Lenovo to split into two biz groups

Chinese PC maker Lenovo is restructuring the company into two business groups to efficiently target the mainstream and high-end segments.

A CNET News China report Sunday cited an internal memo from Lenovo's president and CEO Yang Yuanqing which said the company will be split into Lenovo Business Group and Think Business Group. The new structure will take effect on Apr. 1.

Lenovo Business group, which will be led by Liu Jun who is currently senior vice president of mobile Internet and digital home (MIDH), includes products from Lenovo PC division and MIDH division. The Think Business Group, which will be led by Peter Hortensius who is currently senior vice president of product group, includes ThinkPad devices and other enterprise business.

Yang explained that the new structure will allow Lenovo to better target the high-end segment. "We tried to push the Lenovo brand in mature markets but we realized that, as a brand, Lenovo only works in the mainstream and low-end market. In the high-end markets, Think is our best brand assest and the only brand which can compete against Apple," he said.

Lenovo acquired the ThinkPad brand when it took over IBM's Thinkpad unit in 2005.

The Chinese PC maker took the number one PC maker spot from Hewlett-Packard in the third quarter of 2012, according to Gartner. However, research firm IDC disagreed, saying that Lenovo was still second.