Lenovo 2012 Year-End Commentary : Malaysia PC Market To Remain Stable Despite Bearish Economic Outlook

By Khoo Hung Chuan, Country General Manager, Lenovo Malaysia

Lenovo stated that small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) will continue to spend cautiously over 2013, looking at software, personnel and hardware solutions with the best return on investment as top priority.

Citing similar sentiments expressed in preliminary reports by Gartner show that worldwide PC shipments totaled 87.5 million units in the third quarter of 2012, an 8.3 percent decline compared with the third quarter of 2011. However, despite this, Gartner is projecting that in the Asia Pacific region, the devices segment (including PCs, tablets, mobile phones & printers) will be worth a total of US$229.7 billion, a 12.3 percent increase from the corresponding 2012 spending.

These results reaffirm the various factors that have influenced SMB spending, including vendors shifting focus towards clearing out inventory in response to the new Windows 8 operating system launch and a focus towards solution-based models that continue to further streamline costs.

Lenovo has grown faster than major PC makers for 11 consecutive quarters and faster than the industry for 13 consecutive quarters. The SMB segment will continue to be a key area of growth for Lenovo Malaysia besides our strong consumer and enterprise segments as well. Lenovo will continue to support the “PC+ evolution” vision in which the PC remains central to the digital lives of people and businesses and is at the heart of an ecosystem of tablets, smart phones and smart TVs.

Local SMB Spending in 2013

Regardless of Gartner’s projected report on spending, SMBs remain wary as the state of the global economy continues to be uncertain. Factors that feed this uncertainty include the constant pressure to stay cost-competitive, the emergence of alternative computing devices such as tablets and smartphones that have penetrated the business, as well as new technologies such as Intel’s Ultrabook platform and the Windows 8 which encourage mobility.

Currently, it is estimated that only 20 percent of local SMBs leverage technology on a daily basis in their business. As more SMBs embrace technology for the first time, PC consumption patterns show that actual growth is starting to be driven within the pent-up demand in the secondary cities, where many customers are first-time buyers.

The demand for personal and business computing devices required to participate in today’s networked world of business information, electronic communication, social media and online entertainment have increased tremendously in emerging markets. The wholesale distribution SMB market, although still not deeply penetrated, remains an untapped future resource for mobility to improve productivity and increase revenue.

While there are many new devices emerging and offering different experiences and applications in the global market, essentially these devices all share the “heart” of a PC.  With that in mind, Lenovo intends in continuing to drive not only growth but also innovation in PCs, and also expand the business across the four screens - PC, tablet, smartphone and Smart TV including the ecosystem of cloud services and other applications that make up the PC+ market.

Lenovo continues to align its core values and behaviours with its business partners through its various target market segmentations in order to succeed further. Lenovo’s climb to the number one spot as world’s largest PC maker according to Gartner and as reported by IDC, with faster growth than the major PC makers for 11 consecutive quarters, and faster than the industry for 13 consecutive quarters, only serves as proof of Lenovo’s success.