Computer giant Lenovo Group saw its market share in Asia Pacific reach its second highest ever in the second quarter of last year.

 

US-based global technology intelligence firm International Data Corp (IDC) said in a release yesterday that Lenovo, now based in New York, expanded its lead in the region, excluding Japan, from 16.8 percent in the first quarter to 20 percent in the second quarter.

 

The lead is Lenovo's second highest in its history, after recording a 21 percent share in the fourth quarter of 2005. The company's sales totalled 2.3 million in the quarter.

 

"China's growth is definitely a factor for Lenovo," said Bryan Ma, associate director of personal systems research at IDC's Asia Pacific region, adding that 80 percent of the company's shipments were in China.

 

According to IDC, 11.6 million computers were sold in the three months ending June 30, 7 percent higher quarter-on-quarter and 18 percent higher year-on-year.

 

HP, the second largest player in the region, remained unchanged in terms of market share and saw a lower year-on-year growth than the market average of 17.8 percent, at 17.4 percent.

 

The world's biggest computer firm, Dell, expanded its market share in Asia Pacific by 0.6 percent to 9.4 percent.

 

While the growth in major markets like India, South Korea and Thailand was lower than IDC expected, China's market's performance "helped pull up the region's overall performance," IDC said.

 

One reason for Lenovo's better-than-expected results is that the first quarter is usually a weak quarter, so the growth in the second quarter appears more impressive against that background.

 

At the same time, almost all computer vendors began promotions in June, ahead of the summer holidays, when parents rush out to buy computers for their children.

 

Lenovo launched waves of promotions in May and June, including releasing new products, holding online gaming contests and offering second-day-fix services in more than 1,000 cities.

 

Xia Li, vice-president of Lenovo Group, said that although the company has more than 30 percent of the market, there is still plenty of room for expansion, as computer use in rural areas is still quite low.

 

Xia said innovations in products, services and marketing campaigns will be the tools which drive sales in smaller cities and rural areas.

 

(China Daily July 21, 2006)