Lenovo to introduce its brand in Taiwan soon

China's Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) will introduce its branded notebook and desktop computers in Taiwan in the first half of next year, a company executive said yesterday.

"We will leverage the strength of Lenovo's China expertise and apply it in global markets. We want to raise this unknown brand up to the same level as IBM," said James Arnold, who oversees brand and marketing activities at Lenovo's Taiwan branch.

The new offerings, which will most likely hit store shelves in the second quarter next year, will be targeted primarily at small businesses and individual users, Arnold told reporters on the sidelines of a product launch. He refused to disclose further details.

In May, Beijing-based Lenovo completed its US$1.25 billion purchase of US giant IBM's PC unit, making it the world's No. 3 computer maker after Dell Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co.

The firm is now conducting in-depth market research to smooth Lenovo's entrance into Taiwan. There are many issues, involving the local market's many segments and unique demands, which still need to be ironed out, said the company's general manager Laurence Hwang (黃維德).

Riding on the strength of IBM's brands, Lenovo Taiwan will continue its push on laptops and desktops from the previous IBM unit under the "ThinkPad" and "ThinkCenter" brands, which are especially well received in the enterprise segment, Arnold said.

Lenovo's own strength in consumer segments will be fully demonstrated beginning next year, when the company is set to launch global branding activities, he said.

However, despite Lenovo's success in its home market, analysts are skeptical about the company's ability to duplicate its brand's performance in Taiwan.

"The Lenovo brand will have a hard time attracting local consumers," said Allan Pu (卜正倫), an analyst with SinoPac Securities Corp (建華證券).

Pu said that Taiwanese are well-versed in computer electronics products and usually go for international brands, while shunning Chinese products.

To survive the stiff competition of the local market, Lenovo might want to continue its current marketing strategy, which is pushing products under the strong "ThinkPad" and "ThinkCenter" brands, as they have gained a strong foothold in the local market, he added.

According to a report released by research house International Data Corp on Aug. 31, the top-three vendors -- Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), Acer Inc and HP Taiwan -- took a combined 71.5 percent domestic market share in the second quarter, while Toshiba Corp of Japan and Lenovo took the fourth and fifth places.