Interview｜Enterprises are stepping into the "replacement wave" Lenovo launches a monthly fee plan to welcome business customers to upgrade business opportunities

Special interviews

Written by: Kuang Yueting

2021-03-22 08:42

Last update date: 2021-03-22 08:43

Benefited from the trend of working at home and entertainment at home, people’s demand for electronic products and computers has increased, which drove Lenovo Group (0992)’s third-quarter financial results to improve. As of the end of December last year, net profit rose 53% year-on-year to US$395 million .

However, as the epidemic stabilizes, can this trend continue in the future?

He Yifan, general manager of Lenovo Hong Kong and Macau, said in an exclusive interview with "Hong Kong 01" that the current epidemic situation in countries around the world is different, but the company’s business in each market is growing. Even if the epidemic in China eases, "Business as usual" (life (Return to normal) has also driven sales growth, while Europe and the United States are still affected by the epidemic, so there is a need to work and study at home.

In the future, the Group will continue to use technology to assist companies in digital transformation, launch more new application models and scenarios, and capture business opportunities brought by smart education, digital retail and home office.

He Yifan believes that the general direction of the digital transformation of enterprises will not change, and that the new demand arising from the epidemic will continue in the future.

(Facebook page picture)

Under the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the housing economy is on the rise, and the demand for home office, study and entertainment has increased, making Lenovo's personal computers and smart devices sold well.

He Yifan said that in the past year, working at home or going to school at home has become a new way of life for many people. In the past, citizens may use computers with their families in turn, but now they will be equipped with 2 to 3 more computers so that each family member has one. Some users in Europe and the United States will also be equipped with 2 to 3 computer monitors to make their work more convenient.

In addition, the epidemic coincided with the end of the Windows 7 system life cycle, and many people replaced computers equipped with Windows 10 systems. As a result, the group has performed strongly in the past three quarters, and both revenue and profit have recorded significant growth.

She expects that the demand for work, study and entertainment from home will continue in the future. However, the demand driven by the Windows 7 "immigrant wave" will have a chance to decline slightly. "The company is cautiously optimistic about the future market and expects annual sales to be able to A new record high!"

Interview｜Lenovo plans to push low- and medium-priced products to lower entry barriers

Increasing monthly fee payment method to attract companies to replace electronic equipment

In addition to selling hardware, providing services and solutions to enterprises is also the focus of the group in the future. The group will start to form a new "solution service business group" in April, allowing companies to "outsource" IT (information technology) services to the group. Including: equipment services, maintenance, remote support services, data backup and encryption, smart solutions, additional value-added services, etc.

He Yifan confessed that most companies did not pay much attention to the conversion cycle of computers in the past, and some guests even described "Lenovo's machine can be used for ten years." However, the epidemic has made enterprises realize that IT is to capture new business models. The weapon of opportunity can also help increase productivity. Therefore, some customers’ companies have increased their IT budgets, hoping to gradually update their hardware and promote cloud transformation. "If some IT services are outsourced to professional teams, the old IT department can focus on development. Online business and smart transformation."

The group will form a new "solution service business group" from April 1st, hoping to become the core driving force for the company's transformation.

(webpage Screenshot)

At the same time, it is seen that if companies replace electronic equipment in one go, they will have to spend huge expenses. The group has also launched a managed service to allow companies to choose the form of monthly fee, or "one shot" to pay for equipment, software or services in full.

He Yifan believes that the monthly fee payment model can make customers more financially flexible, so it has attracted many customers to choose. In the future, the company will continue to introduce new equipment and service models, hoping to provide customers with the new normal of work and study Better service experience.

Lenovo released the world's first foldable PC "ThinkPad X1 Fold" last year.

(Photo by Zhang Haowei)

Broad product line helps maintain the leading position

At present, the Group is the leader in the personal computer (PC) market. With the increasing popularity of tablet computers, PCs may be gradually eliminated in the future.

However, He Yifan holds the opposite view. He thinks that the PC "will not die" because different types of models can cater to the different needs of customers, such as basic purposes such as surfing the Internet, attending video conferences, and allowing children to draw pictures. A tablet computer is sufficient, but if the computer equipment needs to process a large amount of data and has a high computing speed for office, image design and processing, and playing games, it needs a professional and high-end PC. The company hopes to provide customers with Various products at different prices.

She continued that the group released the world's first foldable PC "ThinkPad X1 Fold" last year. This product is a "three in one" of mobile phones, tablets and laptops, making it more convenient for users to attend work.

In the future, the Group will continue to develop more new functions and new products and provide a broad product line to enhance its brand image and maintain its leading position.

In recent months, there has been a global shortage of chips. Samsung has warned that the new generation of flagship mobile phones, the Galaxy Note series, may not be launched as scheduled in the second half of this year.

Lenovo Group had expected that the global chip shortage would continue in the first half of this year, and used stockpiling as a countermeasure.

He Yifan said that there is indeed a situation in which individual chip components are in short supply. If there is a price war in the industry to compete for chips, causing chip prices to rise to a certain level, the product may increase in price.

"It's hard to fully afford it (increasing costs), and there is some pressure to increase prices. I hope that the supply chain can be improved as soon as possible so that costs can be controlled."

As vaccines begin to be widely vaccinated, the global economy is expected to recover.

He Yifan said that there is a gradual popularization of vaccines, and he believes that all places can be switched on and off as soon as the second half of the year, and personnel exchanges can return to normal. If the epidemic is under control and the vaccination plan goes well, I believe the global economy can recover later.

At the same time, as a global company with operations in 180 countries and regions around the world, the group will continue to monitor and pay attention to the political environment and developments in the surrounding areas.

Facebook and News Corp Australia agree to pay for the use of news content

"WSJ": Facebook cancels application for establishing optical fiber cable between California and Hong Kong

Lenovo Group Computer