Can Lenovo overtake Samsung and Apple?

Lenovo Group, which is rapidly rising in the market with personal computers and mid-to-low-end smartphones, recently released a new smartphone K900, priced at 3,299 yuan, which is an important step for Lenovo to enter the mid-to-high-end smartphone market . In addition, Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing recently said that the company hopes to enter the US smartphone market within a year and hopes to replicate the success of the PC business. Lenovo even threatened to surpass Samsung and Apple to become the number one in China within two years. So, can Lenovo successfully surpass its competitors by entering high-end and overseas markets to drive performance?

High-end market: strong development momentum

In the smartphone market, Lenovo has actually occupied an important seat. Data shows that in the fourth quarter of 2012, Lenovo ranked third in global mobile smart terminal manufacturers in terms of shipments, second only to Apple and Samsung. In the Chinese market, Lenovo ranked second for 11 consecutive months. According to iiMedia Research, in terms of the sales volume of various brands in the domestic smartphone market, Samsung accounted for 22.5% in 2012, followed by Lenovo with 10.7%.

However, it is obvious that the major global brands, such as Apple, Samsung, HTC, etc., are more focused on the high-end market. On the contrary, Lenovo has been committed to the penetration of low-end mobile phones. Although its sales volume is high, its smartphone business in China It was only profitable for the first time in the fourth quarter of last year. Therefore, developing into the high-end market to obtain more profits is one of the important tasks of Lenovo's smartphone business today.

Lenovo Group Senior Vice President and President of China Chen Xudong said that Lenovo The group's route into the smartphone market is to "first enter this market through a thousand-yuan smartphone or a higher-priced mobile phone, and then gradually pursue more or higher-end products". In the Chinese market, Lenovo expanded sales through operator channels. At present, Lenovo has become the largest supplier of China Mobile and China Unicom. This year, Lenovo's goal is to conquer China Telecom's market.

In addition, in order to promote the K900, Lenovo has greatly expanded its sales channels. In addition to traditional chain stores, e-commerce channels and operator channels, Lenovo has also opened up 100 3C experience stores located in high-end shopping places. Chen Xudong said that the K900 mobile phone is a product for the global market. In addition to the Chinese market, it will also enter emerging markets such as Indonesia, Russia, and India. "The K900 will drive Lenovo's global brand," he said. In addition, Lenovo is also brewing to launch Thinkpad-branded mobile phones. Chen Xudong said that the timetable has not yet been determined, but it will be launched after the market of 3,000 yuan has stabilized.

Although Lenovo's mid-to-high-end smartphones are on the rise, Lenovo is still far behind its competitors in two key aspects: brand awareness and product innovation. In the past, Lenovo has been focusing on low-end and mid-end products with low prices, while competitors like Samsung and Apple are better at brand promotion, user experience, product development and innovation, and after-sales service. This kind of brand awareness and product innovation does not build success overnight.

Overseas Markets: Competition Challenges Huge

On the other hand, in addition to the high-end smartphone market, Lenovo plans to enter the US market within this year. In fact, Lenovo began to expand overseas markets since last year. Its smartphone business has entered emerging markets such as India, Russia and Indonesia. Therefore, this year, it plans to enter more mature markets such as the United States and Europe.

Lenovo has performed well in the personal computer business. According to the International Data Corporation, Lenovo is now closely following Hewlett-Packard, and is expected to become the world's largest PC maker by market share. As such, Lenovo plans to replicate the success of PCs in the U.S. smartphone market with its mature smartphone business in the country.

However, Lenovo's entry into the U.S. smartphone market has been difficult. The success of the computer business mentioned earlier does not seem to be the case in the US market, where Lenovo's market share in the latest quarter was only 9%, ranking only fifth. Lenovo's brand recognition is not high in the US market. In the US market, Lenovo will also encounter strong competitors with high brand recognition and strong innovation such as Samsung, Apple, and HTC.

Yang Yuanqing, President and CEO of Lenovo Group, said that in the overseas market business, it will increase its marketing efforts to improve brand recognition. In addition, it will also open up sales channels, and in mature markets will rely more on the sales of telecom operators.

Finally, as we all know, Lenovo's acquisition of IBM has made technological and brand progress and improvements, which can be said to have played a huge role in the development of the personal computer business. Therefore, Yang Yuanqing said: "If the acquisition can help us tap potential quickly, we will consider it." Yang Yuanqing said that Lenovo will increase the company's sales channels in mature markets through acquisitions.

In general, with the success of PCs and market insight, Lenovo, as a stand-out Chinese brand, also has huge potential for growth in the smartphone business. However, in the face of the brutal competition in the mobile phone market, it remains to be seen whether Lenovo can improve its own strength and enter the high-end market and overseas market strongly, thereby defeating its competitors.