Lenovo Berths in Nigeria launches 7 Smartphone portfolio

Lenovo, global leader in PC manufacturing is adding the Nigerian market to its expanding territories with a promise to be “innovative and compete very aggressively’ to establish its foothold in Africa’s emerging ICT market with the launch of seven (7) smartphone models in a market already awash with several brands.

The PC maker which faced a backlash following its acquisition of googles’ unviable Motorola Mobility unit for $2.9million said coming to Nigeria is a strategic investment move aimed at expanding its African business operation.

Graham Braum, general manager, Lenovo Africa, said Nigeria remains a very strategic market not only in Africa, but in its Middle East and Africa (MEA) operation. He believes the firm is in Nigeria for the long haul.

“We’re not here for a short stay; it is for the long haul. In this wise, we’ll be engaging in a number of innovative engagements with critical sectors of the Nigerian economic spectrum including the universities and others connected with the IT market ecosystem,” said Braum.

He added that “we’re not just coming here with devices; we’re coming here with innovations.”

Concurring, Shashank Sharma, director of Operation, MEA region, said although it could be argued that Lenovo had taken time to enter the Nigerian market when others seems to have made huge footholds, there was still enough room for more players.

“Nigeria is not a small or ordinary market and you cannot ignore it. We want to have a lasting footprint in this market. We will start by investing heavily in our local channels and distribution partners. There is also a whole lot of innovation in healthcare, education/intellectual capital that we bring into the market,” said Sharma.

Sharma noted that Nigerian consumers will be the first in African to get their hands on the seven models, including the flagship Vibe X smartphone. Each Lenovo smartphone is designed with specific customer needs in mind, the portfolio offers a range of carefully considered design innovations and functionality that fits every style, personality and need.

The Lenovo smartphones will be available at major retail-outlets first week of March 2014.  The range includes entry-level devices, such as the A369i, A516, A680, and A859; the stylish S650 and S930; and the picture perfect and sleek Vibe X. All Lenovo smartphones will come with a one year local warranty.

Braum stated that “with more than 120 million mobile subscribers, Nigeria represents a strategic market for Lenovo’s smartphone business. Smartphones are fast becoming a primary platform for work, entertainment and social networking for consumers and we are thrilled to announce the launch of our exciting line-up in Nigeria. Innovation is in Lenovo’s DNA; our team strives to deliver ground-breaking devices with distinct, elegant design. Today’s launch marks the first time customers in Nigeria can purchase Lenovo smartphones locally and we are excited to see the market’s reaction.”

IDC forecasts smartphone shipments worldwide to reach 1.5 billion by 2017, with smartphone shipment dominated by emerging markets. 

“Smartphone penetration in Nigeria is one of the highest in the world,” Braum added. “Our goal is to be one of the top five smartphone vendors in Nigeria in the very near future. We believe this a reality as our product range caters to a wide variety of individual needs and we have partnered with the best in the industry to help us achieve our goal.” 

While Lenovo is one of the top 5 smartphone vendor and second smartphone vendor in China, according to IDC, it continues to protect its PCs business, rapidly scaling innovation to attack smartphone and tablet markets to become a PC Plus leader.

Most recently, IDC reported that Lenovo is the second PC vendor in Nigeria with 13.2 percent market share and with 597 percent year to year growth.

“While the PC market still represents a $200 billion opportunity and offers substantial opportunity for profitable growth, most of the new growth will be in the PC Plus market, which includes tablets, smartphones, and other smart connected devices and the broader portfolio of cloud, services and infrastructure hardware – such as storage and servers - that are critical to powering the PC Plus era,” Braum concluded.