Lenovo keeps IBM PC unit at arm's length
"The Lenovo business in China will remain split and will be managed differently in the short-term," Lenovo Australia and New Zealand managing director Alan Munro told ZDNet Australia . China's Lenovo Group this week announced it had completed its US$1.75 billion purchase of IBM's PC division.
Munro said Lenovo's Asia-Pacific headquarters will be based in Sydney and led by Andrew Sotiropolous. Neither Sotiropolous nor Munro have in fact changed roles -- they were in charge of Asia-Pacific and Australia, respectively, at IBM's PC unit before the acquisition.
The Asia-Pacific portfolio includes Lenovo's IBM-branded business in China, Munro said, adding that his counterparts from South East Asia, China, Japan and Korean will report to Sotiropolous.
The lack of management reshuffle was done intentionally. "Our customers haven't seen a change," said Munro, "which was exactly what we wanted."
In line with this policy, Munro said while his team was evaluating Lenovo's product line, such products would not enter the Australian market for some time. Instead, the company will focus on developing IBM's 'Think' brand, particularly targeting the small business market.
Lenovo -- which has its own retail stores in China -- will also reverse the PC division's reluctance to place its products in retail stores. Munro said his company had already started to pilot a program where Think-branded products were sold in shopfronts of 'Tier 2 partners'. This, he said, would allow the Think brand to penetrate the small business market in a much stronger way.
Munro also highlighted a recent marketing campaign involving the use of a 10-tonne semi-trailer filled with Think-branded products as an example of new marketing techniques his company would use to build brand awareness. The truck drove around Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, parking in high foot-traffic areas on the way so consumers could "get inside and play with the technology".
On customer service, he's committed to Lenovo maintaining the same standards that clients of IBM's PC division had enjoyed.