Lenovo asks channel for second chance

PC vendor encourages VARs to give its revised market offerings a second look

City of love: Lenovo used the romantic backdrop of Paris to stage a love-in with top partners

PC vendor Lenovo is urging VARs that have previously dismissed the thought of partnering with the firm to give it another go.

The Chinese vendor said it has gone to great lengths over the past year to make it a “more compelling potential partner” and would “strongly encourage” resellers to re-examine what it has to offer.

In a one-to-one with CRN at the vendor’s partner conference in Paris, David McQuarrie, vice president of small and medium-sized businesses (SMB), said: “If you have never considered Lenovo or you did some time ago and decided against it, look again.”

McQuarrie cited the vendor’s partner programme, which underwent a major overhaul last October, and its “broadening” product line-up as key reasons for prospective partners to give it another go.

He added: “Are we perfect? No, but we have significantly improved and I think we now offer a compelling value proposition to partners who want to extend the range of products in their portfolios.”

Yang Yuanqing, chief executive officer at Lenovo, said the firm’s revised approach to channel strategy was already “creating good momentum” and setting it apart from the other big players.

He added: “We want to inspire confidence and become the kind of company that you want to partner with.”

According to IDC's PC rankings, Lenovo was the big winner in the final quarter of 2009 as strong growth in EMEA and Asia Pacific propelled its global market share from 7.5 to 9.2 per cent.