Lenovo plans big for Bangladesh

Anjan Baruah head of overseas (South Asia) Lenovo, tells The Independent

Bangladesh, with its increasing tech-savvy customer base is now considered as an important part in Beijing-based global tech giant Lenovo’s business plans for the next few years, Anjan Baruah, head of overseas (South Asia) Lenovo, who recently visited the country, told The Independent.
According to Baruah, Lenovo is poised for an ambitious global expansion drive after the computer giant made its two biggest corporate acquisitions of Motorola and IBM in the past two years.
“After the acquisition of IBM, especially its critically-acclaimed ‘ThinkPad’ laptop series, Lenovo is the world’s largest PC maker and certainly the most reliable one. We are very confident about our product and planning on expanding the market,” said Baruah.
On the global front, the data speaks of its success. Lenovo reported revenue of $11.3 billion for the fourth quarter that ended March 31, 2015 – up 21 per cent year-on-year.
Baruah said it delivered an expectation-beating quarterly net income of $100 million, with a better balance of revenue where 64 per cent was generated from PCs, 25 per cent from mobile phones and 9 per cent from the enterprise segment, compared to the previous year when the PC segment made up a total of 83 per cent of the total revenue.
“South-East Asia (especially India), Malaysia and Singapore experienced the largest year-on-year growth across the three business segments,” he said, adding that Lenovo is focusing on strengthening its presence in Bangladesh through a well-defined retail and partner strategy, backed by a stunning portfolio of innovative consumer-tech devices.
He said that Bangladesh is a mix of mature markets with an appetite for premium and cutting-edge technology, as well as fast-growing emerging markets with entry-level technology penetration, that gives Lenovo the opportunity to grow its market share quickly.
“It’s a great market for us. While our Q1 CY 2015 market share in Bangladesh at 9 per cent depicts steady growth, the upcoming Q2 CY 2015 market share, as per IDC, is expected to be much stronger than the previous quarters,” said Baruah.
Lenovo will continue to increase investments in Bangladesh in its bid to become a leader in all segments. Key areas of investment include geographical and channel expansion, relationship building with business partners, retail presence growth, company infrastructure and resources improvements, after-sales enhancements and more innovative products to suit Bangladeshi customers.
“As of now, our main focus is selling Lenovo laptops and tablets in the Bangladeshi market. We have different types of laptops in different price ranges. So, I think we will be able to serve from young students to corporate customers,” he said.
About Lenovo tablets, he said that they are cheap and offer great value for money. “Our tabs are running on android – the most popular operating system – so customers can avail of all the apps they want,” he said.
Lenovo’s big plan in Bangladesh, however, is to sell smartphones. “We are one of the fastest growing smartphone makers in the world and our smartphones have already become the most sought after in countries like Malaysia and Philippines. We will introduce our smartphones in Bangladesh soon,” he added.
According to Baruah, the Lenovo brand speaks the language of today’s ‘netigen’ consumer audience (18-34-year-olds). “We have signed cricketer Shakib Al Hasan as our brand ambassador for Lenovo devices. Shakib also exudes style and performance.” “Lenovo helps millennials translate their dreams into reality as well as enable businesses to achieve more. We are now investing more than ever in the Bangladesh market and our association with Shakib is a step in this direction,” he said.

Lenovo plans big for Bangladesh

Anjan Baruah head of overseas (South Asia) Lenovo, tells The Independent

Bangladesh, with its increasing tech-savvy customer base is now considered as an important part in Beijing-based global tech giant Lenovos business plans for the next few years, Anjan Baruah, head of overseas (South Asia) Lenovo, who recently visited the country, told The Independent. According to Baruah, Lenovo is poised for an ambitious global expansion drive after the computer giant made its two biggest corporate acquisitions of Motorola and IBM in the past two years. After the acquisition of IBM, especially its critically-acclaimed ThinkPad laptop series, Lenovo is the worlds largest PC maker and certainly the most reliable one. We are very confident about our product and planning on expanding the market, said Baruah. On the global front, the data speaks of its success. Lenovo reported revenue of $11.3 billion for the fourth quarter that ended March 31, 2015 up 21 per cent year-on-year. Baruah said it delivered an expectation-beating quarterly net income of $100 million, with a better balance of revenue where 64 per cent was generated from PCs, 25 per cent from mobile phones and 9 per cent from the enterprise segment, compared to the previous year when the PC segment made up a total of 83 per cent of the total revenue. South-East Asia (especially India), Malaysia and Singapore experienced the largest year-on-year growth across the three business segments, he said, adding that Lenovo is focusing on strengthening its presence in Bangladesh through a well-defined retail and partner strategy, backed by a stunning portfolio of innovative consumer-tech devices. He said that Bangladesh is a mix of mature markets with an appetite for premium and cutting-edge technology, as well as fast-growing emerging markets with entry-level technology penetration, that gives Lenovo the opportunity to grow its market share quickly. Its a great market for us. While our Q1 CY 2015 market share in Bangladesh at 9 per cent depicts steady growth, the upcoming Q2 CY 2015 market share, as per IDC, is expected to be much stronger than the previous quarters, said Baruah. Lenovo will continue to increase investments in Bangladesh in its bid to become a leader in all segments. Key areas of investment include geographical and channel expansion, relationship building with business partners, retail presence growth, company infrastructure and resources improvements, after-sales enhancements and more innovative products to suit Bangladeshi customers. As of now, our main focus is selling Lenovo laptops and tablets in the Bangladeshi market. We have different types of laptops in different price ranges. So, I think we will be able to serve from young students to corporate customers, he said. About Lenovo tablets, he said that they are cheap and offer great value for money. Our tabs are running on android the most popular operating system so customers can avail of all the apps they want, he said. Lenovos big plan in Bangladesh, however, is to sell smartphones. We are one of the fastest growing smartphone makers in the world and our smartphones have already become the most sought after in countries like Malaysia and Philippines. We will introduce our smartphones in Bangladesh soon, he added. According to Baruah, the Lenovo brand speaks the language of todays netigen consumer audience (18-34-year-olds). We have signed cricketer Shakib Al Hasan as our brand ambassador for Lenovo devices. Shakib also exudes style and performance. Lenovo helps millennials translate their dreams into reality as well as enable businesses to achieve more. We are now investing more than ever in the Bangladesh market and our association with Shakib is a step in this direction, he said.