Dell does a Lexus (sort of)

It took a lot of confidence and guts for Toyota to offer a completely new name for its luxury line of cars, Lexus, all those years ago. In retrospect, it is easy to see that it was a wise decision, and one based firmly on good branding theory.

There's a lot of news circulating around the Net on Dell's latest strategic decision to enter the "luxury" market for PCs and notebooks. As far as I can tell, this "new brand" is called Dell XPS.

What do you think of that for a new brand name?

You'd think that Dell would have the guts to come up with something a bit bolder than that. I doubt that wealthy consumers will want this product considering the name still contains elements of a low-cost PC brand, Dell.

It's a bit like trying to convince the affluent that the "Wal-Mart XYZ" boutique is a luxury store.