联想将在中国农村市场的销售低价电脑
Lenovo To Sell Low-Cost PCs In Rural China2009年3月5日
LENOVO Group Ltd., refocusing on the Chinese domestic market, said Wednesday it will tap the spending power of the rural population with low-cost computers and 700 new retail stores.
The move would take advantage of a government economic stimulus plan, yet to be finalized, under which rural residents can get subsidies worth 13% of the price of electronic goods purchased from participating companies.
The Beijing-based computer maker said it will sell 15 customized computer models for just 2,500 to 3,500 yuan each under the plan. The company's regular laptop and desktop offerings range from 2,800 yuan to over 5,000 yuan.
'We are prepared to offer computers to 320,000 villages, benefiting five million village households, in the next three years,' Xia Li, vice president of Lenovo Group, said in a statement. In addition to the new stores, Lenovo will establish 7,800 affiliated sales outlets.
Lenovo is refocusing on the Chinese market due to weak demand in the U.S. and Europe. It recently laid off hundreds of workers in China who supported its global operations.
The government's subsidy program, which analysts estimate will cost the government $4.4 billion a year, is open to non-Chinese companies, so Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc., Lenovo's chief rivals in China, may also participate. Lenovo believes the plan could boost PC industry sales in China by 10 billion yuan, the equivalent of about 5% of the annual total.
Some analysts question whether subsidies will make much difference in the race by PC vendors to boost sales in rural China, which has been a growth area for the industry but where residents have an average annual income of only $700 a person. Rural residents save heavily due to a lack of government social services, including health care and education. They also have less access to well-stocked stores.
The program 'theoretically could help bolster shipments,' but isn't likely to create a major inflection point in the market, said Bryan Ma, analyst for IDC in Singapore.
IDC has lowered its forecast for PC sales growth in China, as measured by shipments, to 3% for 2009, slowing from 9% growth in 2008 and 25% growth in 2007. In 2008, PC sales totaled 40.3 million units.
China -- the world's second-largest market for personal computers, measured by shipments -- is Lenovo's core market and generates more than 40% of the company's overall revenue. The company has maintained a strong market share lead over its competitors in China with 30.3% of PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to IDC. Hewlett Packard and Dell, with a market share of 11.2% and 9.7%, respectively, gained last year at the expense of Founder Electronics and other local rivals.
Lenovo made a push into international markets after acquiring the PC arm of International Business Machines Corp. in 2005. But it has slipped in global sales rankings and recently announced an 11% reduction in the size of its work force, not including the hundreds just let go in China, and a reshuffling of its top management.
Loretta Chao 联想将在中国农村市场销售低价电脑
再度将业务重点转向中国本土市场的联想集团周三表示，将用低价电脑开发中国广大农村地区的消费能力，并准备新开700家零售门店。
联想集团此次业务拓展将搭上中国政府经济刺激计划的顺风车。根据这份尚未最终敲定的方案，农村居民在购买纳入补贴范围的家电下乡产品时可以获得相当于产品售价的13%的补贴。
Associated Press
这家总部设在北京的电脑企业表示，将为此推出15款客户定制化电脑，售价仅为人民币2500-3500元（合365至510美元）。通常情况下，联想的笔记本及台式电脑最便宜的也要2800元，贵的则会超过5000元。
联想集团副总裁夏立在一份声明中表示，公司准备在未来三年中为32万个乡村提供电脑，惠及500万农村家庭，除了新增门店以外，联想还将建立7800个销售点。
由于美欧市场需求疲软，中国大陆再次成为了联想的业务重心。不久前，公司在中国裁减了数百名负责全球业务支持的员工。
分析师估计中国的家电下乡计划将令政府每年为此支出44亿美元。这项计划也向外资企业敞开了大门。因此联想在中国市场的主要竞争对手，如惠普和戴尔电脑等也可能参与其中。联想相信该计划将使中国的个人电脑销售额增加100亿元，约为中国全年个人电脑销售规模的5%。
有一些分析师质疑补贴措施是否能给个人电脑企业在农村市场的竞争格局带来改变。中国农村虽然是电脑行业的增长点，但农民的人均年收入仅为700美元。由于医疗、教育等社保服务不到位，中国农民将大多数收入用于储蓄。而且货源充足的商店在农村也不是随处可见。
国际数据公司驻新加坡分析师Bryan Ma说，从理论上讲，该方案有助于提高电脑发货量，但不太可能给市场带来转机。
国际数据公司下调了2009年中国个人电脑销量的增速预期。这一基于发货量的数据显示，2007年和2008年时中国的个人电脑销售量分别增长了25%和9%；而预计今年的个人电脑销售增速将显著放缓至3%。2008年中国的个人电脑销量为4,030万台。
以发货量计算，中国是全球第二大个人电脑市场，也是联想的核心市场，它为联想贡献的收入在公司总收入中的比重超过了40%。国际数据公司提供的信息显示，联想在中国拥有可观的市场份额，远远超出其他竞争对手。2008年第四季度，联想的发货量市场占有率为30.3%。惠普和戴尔电脑的占有率分别提高到了11.2%和9.7%，方正电子等其他本土品牌的市场份额则相应出现了缩水。
联想在2005年时收购了国际商业机器公司的个人电脑业务部分，此后就一直努力开拓国际市场。然而，它在全球市场的销售排名出现了下滑，而且在宣布在中国的全球职能部门中裁减数百人之前，公司就表示要在全球范围内裁员11%，此外，联想还对最高管理层进行了改组。
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