Lenovo is one of the largest consumer electronics manufacturers in the world, and the company holds first place in PC market share, in addition to being one of the larger players in the smartphone arena. Last year was very interesting for smartphone makers and competition was intense between the top five. Samsung kept its first place, followed by Apple. The third place was occupied by Huawei, who ousted Lenovo from that position when compared to 2014 figures, even after their purchase of Motorola. Lenovo is reacting to this scenario and the company has announced important changes in its business structure and leadership.
Their PC Group is merging with PC & Smart Device Business Group, comprising PCs, detachable devices, tablets, phablets, gaming, and smart home products, which involve Windows, Android and Chrome OS platforms. As for leadership changes, the new Business Group will be headed by Gianfranco Lanci, who is Lenovo Group President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), and Mr. Lanci will be reporting to the company’s CEO. Lenovo’s Mobile Business Group (MBG), which comprises smartphones and has been merged with Motorola, will be headed by two executives. Since the Chinese market is very different than the rest of the world, Xudong Chen will take care of China while Aymar de Lencquesaing will be in charge of driving rapid growth in emerging markets. As for Motorola, current President and CEO Rick Osterloh will be leaving the company. As a result, Aymar de Lencquesaing will become Motorola’s President and Chairman. All changes will be effective in April 1st and according to Lenovo, these changes will put the company in a better position to grow its shares in the consolidated PC market, which it already leads, and also focus on the emerging market of smart devices.
Lenovo leads the PC market with a 20% market share for 2015, having shipped 15.4 million units in that period. As for smartphones, the company lost some ground for rival Huawei. In 2014, its market share was 6.5%, while Huawei was 1% behind at 5.5%. However, Huawei ended 2015 with 7.3%, while Lenovo dropped to 5.1%, even after purchasing Motorola from Google. This year will be crucial for Lenovo and most electronics manufacturers due to increased competition and the slowdown of the Chinese economy and it will be interesting to see how the market will react to this shifting scenario.