RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – William Amelio’s strategy to boost Lenovo personal computer sales is working, based on two widely watched reports that serve as a barometer for the global PC industry.
Lenovo’s marketing strategy worldwide is aggressive, to say the least. From Formula 1 racing to the Beijing Olympics, the NBA to World Cup Soccer, Lenovo is marketing heavily to draw attention. While HP and Dell remain the dominant PC sellers worldwide, Lenovo is gaining traction.
Research firms IDC and Garnter both reported Wednesday that Lenovo had regained its hold on third place in global PC shipments. More important than passing Acer, however, is the fact Lenovo shipments surged more than 22 percent, which was much faster than the overall industry surge of some 12 percent.
Lenovo, which is based in Morrisville, shipped 4.88 million units, up 22.3 percent, according to IDC.
“Lenovo had a very solid quarter,” IDC said, citing an increase from 14 percent to 22 percent alone in the Europe-Middle East-Asia sector.
Added Gartner: “Lenovo significantly exceeded the worldwide average, showing stronger than regional growth across all regions except Japan.”
According to Gartner, Lenovo increased its global market share to 8 percent from 7.3 percent for the same quarter in 2006. Shipments in 2007’s second three months jumped to 4.88 million units, Gartner said.
Acer, which passed Lenovo for third place in the first quarter of this year, dropped back to fourth with 4.37 million PCs shipped.
HP remains the leader, widening the gap over struggling Dell in both surveys. In fact, Dell, which operates its largest manufacturing facility in Winson-Salem, was the only top five manufacturer to ship fewer PCs.
“Dell continued to struggle, as it experienced lower growth rates than the regional average across all regions,” Gartner said. “The major weakness continued to be derived from the consumer market.”
Ouch.
