Publications
Publications
- January 2008
- HBS Case Collection
Lenovo: Building A Global Brand (Multimedia case)
By: John A. Quelch and Carin-Isabel Knoop
Abstract
Announced in December 2004, the $1.75 billion acquisition of IBM's PC division by Lenovo, China's largest PC maker, made headlines around the world. A relative upstart in the business, Lenovo acquired the division of IBM that invented the PC in 1981. While Lenovo was arguably the best-known brand in China, it was virtually unknown in the rest of the world. In 2004, over 90% of Lenovo's revenues came from China, but with this major deal, Lenovo aimed to become a global technology giant. As a new multinational with 20,000 employees operating in 138 countries, Lenovo needed a global marketing and branding strategy to extent its global reach. This meant determining what Lenovo stood for and designing products that supported that claim. In January 2006, 13 months after the deal was announced and eight months after it closed, Lenovo is preparing for the intense limelight that would come with its sponsorship of the February 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. There, it plans to introduce a Lenovo-branded product line designed from the bottom up for the small to medium enterprise space--a move considered very bold and risky by many observers.
Keywords
Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Information Infrastructure; Global Strategy; Acquisition; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Computer Industry; China
Citation
Quelch, John A., and Carin-Isabel Knoop. "Lenovo: Building A Global Brand (Multimedia case)." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Case 508-703, January 2008.