Lenovo lines up ducks for UK tablet channel push
UK boss reveals ambitions to be significant force in tablet market within two years
Lenovo's UK boss has talked of his ambitions to grow beyond the PC space after the vendor closed the books on another year of frenetic growth.
The China-based firm defied the wider market to record a 15 per cent rise in global sales for its fiscal year to 31 March 2013, with net profit surging 38 per cent to a record $801m (£531.5m).
Lenovo is currently tussling with HP for leadership of the global PC market, while its share of the UK market currently sits at 12.4 per cent, according to IDC.
However, Lenovo's UK and Ireland vice president Marc Godin said this year will be just as much about building channels for its nascent tablet business in this country as it will be about growing its mature PC business.
"My ambition is to catch up over the next two to three years to the market share we have in PCs," Godin told CRN.
"We are the number two in the tablet market in China – the second-largest tablet market in the world – and on a global basis we are number three in the PC, smartphone and tablet market. We have a good idea of what the consumer wants; the challenge is to translate this ambition into the UK."
Lenovo is launching a new range of 7in and 10in Android tablets in early summer, adding to its existing range of Windows 8 tablets and convertible devices such as Yoga and Helix.
Godin claimed Lenovo is currently in discussions with distributors and key retailers to assemble tablet packages tailored to specific vertical markets.
"The discussions we have been having with distributors is about how we can make it easier for resellers to package tablets to their customers. It's fine if you just want hardware, but we believe there are segments in the market that require more than that," he said.
Lenovo, which the rumour mill has linked to possible acquisitions of RIM and IBM's x86 server business in recent months, claims its global smartphone shipments almost trebled last year and it is now the number-two player in China.
A phased smartphone rollout is now occurring across EMEA, although Godin repeated earlier claims that the UK is not at the front of the queue.
"We had a very successful launch in Russia and we are selecting a few more countries in EMEA to launch but the UK is not on the timeline," he said.
Although Windows 8 has met with a lukewarm reception from analysts, PC vendors and customers – even being blamed for the dramatic plunge in PC shipments in Q1 – Godin argued that Microsoft's new operating system has potential if the industry can get its act together on touch.
"I view it as a fantastic operating system, assuming that you are using it on touch products," he said. "Where the challenge is for the industry is to bring enough price-competitive touch products so consumers and professionals can benefit from the great experience Windows 8 brings. "