CT: How do you see the personal computing space pan out over the next 12 months?
Rahul Agarwal: The PC industry offers substantial opportunity for profitable growth, especially in a country like India due to lack of PC penetration. There continues to be room for innovation for the PC platform to make it even more relevant and desirable than before; convertible PCs, like table PCs, are an example of this continued innovation.
Lenovo sees great potential to significantly grow the market for convertible PCs as we continue to lead and innovate in this category with products like the Yoga, Horizon Table PC and Flex 20 All-In-One (AIO). In addition, we are driving growth and innovation by expanding into what we call PC+ products. These are smartphones, tablets and smart TVs.
Despite the recent overall decline in global PC shipments, Lenovo’s results clearly demonstrate strong business momentum and that Protect & Attack is the right strategy for a PC+ world, where consumerization and mobile are the dominant trends. We are best positioned to win in this PC+ era.
CT: Are you hedging your bets by moving from personal computing products to the small screen devices?
Rahul Agarwal: PCs will remain a core business for Lenovo. But we will also certainly invest in high growth areas that fit our Protect and Attack strategy. Tablets and smartphones are the growth markets. We want to be in the premium, mainstream and entry-level segment for both smartphones and tablets. Betting on the PC+ era, we want to sell 1mn smartphones, 300,000 tablets and simultaneously sustain our strength in the PC business
It is innovation that will set us apart in the PC+ era. Our ultimate goal is to use innovation to differentiate Lenovo and become not only a leading PC+ brand, but also one of the most respected technology companies in the world.
CT: You’ve engaged in a media blitz by going after stars like Ashton Kutcher globally and Ranbir Kapoor in India. Which user segments are you targeting?
Rahul Agarwal: Lenovo wants to play aggressively in the consumer segment and become the most preferred PC brand among the youth. Ranbir Kapoor embodies an exemplary blend of both performance and style which makes him an ideal choice for Lenovo. Signing him on is a strong step towards the growth of the Lenovo brand and in line with our brand philosophy “For Those Who Do”. With his extraordinary appeal to youngsters across the nation, Ranbir definitely communicates our brand’s ‘DO’ attributes to our consumers effectively.