(UDHAYAM, HONG KONG) – After a bruising fall from its spot as the world’s third-largest mobile phone maker following its acquisition of Motorola three-years ago, China’s Lenovo Group Ltd. is counting on a push upmarket to stop the bleeding in its smartphone business.
While the company, which vies with HP as the world’s largest PC maker, returned to profit in the year to March, losses in its smartphone business worsened as marketing expenses for new products and key component costs increased.
The group’s phone problems started after it acquired Motorola Mobility from Google for $2.9 billion in 2014 but struggled to integrate the assets. That, combined with fierce competition from lower-end manufacturers in its home base of China such as Xiaomi and Oppo, saw its global position fall to eighth in 2016.
A recently announced reorganization of its China business aimed at sharpening the PC brand’s consumer focus comes amid an on-going effort to tighten its mobile branding and shift the focus to pricier models under its Moto brand.
Courtesy: Reuters News Agency
