BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Dell Inc. CEO Michael Dell said Thursday he expects his company's sales to outpace those of its rival computer makers, despite a slowing global economy.
Dell told reporters that "our expectation is that Dell will continue to grow faster than the industry this year."
The company, the No. 2 PC maker, warned last week that corporate spending on technology is weakening further, causing its shares to fall to multiyear lows. Dell said Thursday he sees tight credit conditions affecting the entire economy but the full impact "is not really clear given the nature of the situation."
The company draws most of its revenue from North America and Europe, which are seeing demand slow -- and just 9 percent from fast-growing markets in Brazil, India, Russia and China, although it claims sales there are increasing by nearly half each year.
Dell said the company is trying to widen its focus from large corporate clients to embrace more consumers by putting more of its computers into 15,000 stores worldwide. North America and China are its first priorities and the company needs a few more quarters to push into more European stores.
The chief executive was in Brussels to speak to EU officials about Dell's drive to produce more energy-efficient computers mainly targeted at government buyers keen to meet power saving goals.
