With its recent relocation to Taipei 101, Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想), the world's third-largest personal computer maker, hopes to increase local brand awareness and market visibility, company executives said yesterday.
"Our new office in Taipei 101 showcases that we have aspirations to be at the top," Ravi Marwaha, president of Lenovo's Asia-Pacific division, told a ceremony which also marked the opening of its showroom in the world's tallest skyscraper.
Lenovo Taiwan moved into the 19th floor of Taipei 101 early this month from its previous location on Sungren Road in the city's Xinyi District, where it shared resources with IBM Taiwan Corp.
The new office spans nearly 350 ping (1,155m2), and accommodates around 60 staff.
Lenovo also set up a showroom adjacent to the Starbucks coffee outlet on the first floor of the building.
The 22.5-ping showroom -- which the company claims is the largest in Asia excluding China -- serves as a venue for it to showcase its full range of offerings.
Competing brands Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) and Hewlett-Packard Taiwan Ltd do not have flagship showrooms in Taiwan.
Marwaha said that the new moves symbolized Lenovo's commitment to Taiwan.
"We are a major procurer of high-quality components from Taiwanese suppliers which will ensure our success in the industry," he said.
He flew in to Taipei to witness yesterday's event and brief employees on the company's plans, before leaving for Japan in the evening.
According to Marwaha, the integration of Lenovo and IBM's PC unit -- which was acquired in May last year -- was completed ahead of schedule and "customer satisfaction has gone up since the merger."
Last November, Lenovo's chairman Yang Yuanqing (楊元慶) said in Taipei that the company was moving toward a two-to-three-year plan to integrate all business aspects of Lenovo and IBM, after the transition to stabilize the workforce and restructure the organization is completed.
To expand global visibility, Lenovo will continue to push its product lines using IBM's prominent "ThinkPad" brand in the near term, while gradually switching to the "Lenovo" brand, he said.
The company officially introduced its first slew of notebook and desktop computers bearing the "Lenovo" logo to Taiwan in April.
The Chinese firm made its first foray outside China in February when it began to sell "Lenovo" brand computers in other countries.
In the first quarter this year, Lenovo was the No. 3 notebook vendor in Taiwan, after Asustek and Acer, according to research house International Data Corp Taiwan in a report released on June 6.
Total notebook sales in the period hit 157,157 units, up 25.8 percent annually but down 31.3 percent sequentially, IDC said.
"Political turmoil, the credit-card debt issue and a weaker local currency have slowed down the local PC industry this year, causing inventory to pile up," said James Arnold, a marketing executive at Lenovo's Taiwan branch.
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