Chinese computer maker Lenovo has confirmed reports that it is to split into two divisions.
One division, which will retain the Lenovo brand, will sell ‘mainstream’ commercial PCs and laptops. The other, named ‘Think’, will sell ‘premium’ consumer products and enterprise hardware.
Lenovo acquired the ‘Think’ brand, as in ‘ThinkPad’ and ‘ along with IBM’s PC division in 2005.
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According to Chinese technology news site Sina.com, Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing said in an internal email that the Think division will compete with Apple.
"In order to successfully challenge a new opponent to win new victories, we must have a clear and strong brand positioning," wrote Yuanqing [translated via Google]. "Therefore, we need to give full play to the potential of these two brands in their respective market segments."
Lenovo is either the number one or number two PC vendor in the world, depending on whether one believes IDC or Gartner’s latest market analysis. Either way, its share of the PC market has grown rapidly – but the market itself is shrinking.
In Lenovo’s native China, meanwhile, smartphones are far outselling PCs. In Chinese smartphone market share, Lenovo is second to Korean electronics giant Samsung.
