Chinese computer-maker Lenovo, which also sells the IBM brand of PCs,
today launched ultrabook named ThinkPad X1 Carbon and said it plans to
scale up its Think range of exclusive retail outlets to 30 in the
domestic market.
"Currently, we have two exclusive Think Business
Stores at Jaipur and Pune. We put up only Think products in these stores
based on customer feedback. We now aim to put across 30 such stores,"
says, Amar Babu, Managing Director, Lenovo India.
According to
Lenovo, ThinkPad X1 Carbon is the world's lightest business ultrabook.
Babu, however, did not offer a timeline for the rollout of these stores.
Besides, the company has also plans to add another 500 retail outlets in its bid to penetrate deeper, he said.
Basu said the company is quite bullish both in the medium and long-term notwithstanding the current dip.
"The
PC penetration in the domestic market is in single-digits as against
about 30 percent in other emerging markets like Brazil and Russia. So we
have a huge opportunity here.
May be there is a temporary dip but in the medium and long-term we are quite bullish about the growth," he said.
Babu
said Lenovo India has grown faster in the last few years, "Last year we
grew about 48 percent, which was seven times the industry growth."
The
company commands 17.1 percent market share with consumer segment
accounting for nearly 12 per cent and SMB segment seven percent, last
quarter, he said.
"Our enterprise business was strong and now has
become even stronger, while consumer and SMB segments have actually
gained market share with the kind of synergy that we have put in place,"
he said.
Declining to offer investment plans here, Babu said that
Lenovo has made significant investments to expand its consumer and SMB
portfolios besides positioning the brand.
"We have also set up
1,000 odd exclusive franchisees, and have built service network to
support our expansion. This investment has helped us grow our market
share," he said.
However, the company has not cut down on
investment despite the choppy market conditions as Lenovo is here for
the long-term, he said.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon, priced at Rs 85,000, weighs just under three pounds.