As Lenovo is for a very large part a PC manufacturer (PC’s is the only segment), this SWOT analysis covers the whole company. Lenovo’s objective is to protect its current strong position in their home base China and keep their large customer installed base. From a growth perspective the targets are emerging markets and expansion of the retail consumer business as well as differentiation to new products.
In order to reach its objective in their home market, Lenovo should leverage their knowledge and strong market position in China. They could further extend their market position by persuading the Chinese government to create import barriers for foreign competitors. The Lenovo brand in China is well known and this can also be used to introduce new products, such as mobile phones and game computers in the Chinese market first. The Chinese customers are not as high demanding yet as for example the US ones, which makes China a perfect market for introductions, especially because Lenovo can use its strong brand. Mobile phones can also make Lenovo less susceptible to the cyclical nature of the PC business, because mobile phones have a shorter life and are indispensable in modern business and normal life.
The Chinese market can also be a good model for new emerging markets in which Lenovo wants to expand its business. The growth opportunities in the PC market are clearly in new emerging markets. This opportunity has been recognized by Lenovo and is part of their key objectives. To be able to reach out to these markets and increase the markets share and their competitiveness, the strong manufacturing position must be exploited. As pricing is key in emerging markets and competition is high, the cost base for manufacturing must be well controlled and further improved in order to become or maintain profitable. The cost structure is also of eminent importance for growing the consumer business via a broad retail network. Because the Lenovo brand is less known