Dell will close about 140 retail kiosks in the U.S., in an effort to adjust its evolving product distribution strategy.

The firm started changing its retail strategy to attract more customers by selling products through its Web site, retail outlets and over the phone.

The closing kiosks have Dell representatives and staff who assisted buyers in choosing products and placing orders for products such as PCs, TVs and printers.

Dell Direct stores in Canada, Asia-Pacific and Japan were not affected by the closure.

We started offering Dell systems through retailers about six months ago, and now customers can buy Dell desktops and laptops through more than 10,000 retail outlets worldwide, said Lionel Manchaca, digital media manager at Dell.

David Frink, Dell spokesman said the needs for kiosks declined as retail stores provide more accessibility to Dell products.

The kiosks, introduced in 2002, are being closed immediately, he said.

In the previous six months, Dell registered several retailers all-over the world to sell its products, including Wal-Mart and Best Buy in the U.S., Tesco in the U.K. and Bic Camera in Japan.

The retail strategy helped Dell close the gap between it and Hewlett Packard although HP remains the world's largest PC dealer. I third and fourth place are Acer and Lenovo.

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