Dell may leave stockings empty this year

Dell has admitted five per cent of orders for its brand new Dimension 8100 PCs and Inspiron 8000 Notebooks have been affected by delays.

Stephen Duignan, consumer products brand manager for Dell, said the problem was caused by US supply problems. The company has run short of the peripherals which are supplied with the new product lines.

This has led to the lead time of five weeks being extended to the point where deliveries could be delayed until after Christmas.

However, Dell claims the problem is now resolved, and believes most products should be shipped in time for the big day. Duignan said: "I'd hesitate to offer a cast iron guarantee, but most products should make it out before Christmas."

Dell also stressed the delays are not due to a lack of availability of Intel's new Pentium IV processor.

However, the delays are still bad news for Dell, which, along with other companies in the PC business, has been suffering from slowing sales. So far it has managed to remain immune from the profits warnings which have blighted Apple, Compaq and Gateway, but no PC maker can afford public relations disasters in the current climate.

Clive Longbottom, service director at analyst house quocirca, said "This is the last thing Dell needs at the moment. With all the PC makers complaining of a fall in demand, you think they'd be even more careful to get the customer service right. They can hardly complain of a lack of demand and inventory problems at the same time."