Lenovo is targeting small towns to acquire top slot in Indian PC market

To increase its PC penetration in India, Lenovo is targeting small towns, which will generate demand and drive sales. The Chinese company is aiming for a market share of over 20% to become the leader by the end of the current fiscal.

The company is currently among the top three players in the Indian PC market with a market share of 18.1%.

“By the end of March, we expect that the market share would cross 20%, making Lenovo the market leader," Lenovo India Director (Marketing) Bhaskar Choudhuri said on Tuesday.

He is of the view that the growth in the PC (desktops and laptops) market in India was relatively flat at the moment.

Presently, PC density in India is 10%, according to Choudhuri.

Lenovo has set up a PC manufacturing plant at Puducherry where it manufactures the `Thinkpad' series, which it acquired from IBM. Other PC products are being imported from China, he said.

The Chinese company would open additional 350 exclusive stores across the country as well.

Asked whether the dip in Lenovo's profits globally had affected Indian operations, Choudhury said, "India is considered a strong market for the Chinese company although contribution to overall sales is below 10%."

Lenovo's India currently employs 600 people.

Regarding smartphones, Choudhury said that Lenovo has adopted an aggressive strategy to capture a decent marketshare.

He said that the company is among the top five players in the Indian smartphone market with 6.6% share, including that of Motorola.

Out of 6.6% share, Lenovo's own market share was 4.4% during the April-June quarter, he said, adding: “Our next aim is to be among the top three players in the Indian smartphone market."

Lenovo started manufacturing smartphones in India with Singapore-based Flextronics at Chennai.

(Image: Reuters )