NEC injects cash into Packard Bell direct line

Electronics giant NEC has ploughed $285 million into its partner Packard Bell in a bid to bolster a planned direct drive into the US corporate PC marketplace in the US.

The cash injection is the first payment that NEC has made to Packard Bell since the two companies formed their alliance last year, and the money has been earmarked for supporting direct sales into corporates, according to an NEC representative.

Michael Gartenberg, director of research at the Gartner Group, said NEC has previously put so much into Packard Bell that it has to continue investing in order to make the partnership a success.

?NEC is going to continue pouring in cash because it has so much invested,? he said. ?In theory, Packard Bell and NEC are the most powerful PC players in the business market but the bottom line is that they face a lot of challenges: they have got a battle on their hands with IBM, Hewlett Packard, Dell and Compaq all doing very well with business users.

?Without a doubt they will push the direct model into Europe. It?s a growing trend in the industry. Everybody looks at Dell?s success and can immediately see the advantage of keeping stock only for orders.?

Oliver O?Reilly, Packard Bell UK product marketing manager, denied that the company would adopt a direct sales model in the UK.