http://www.lenovo.

com/social_responsibility/us/en/
Lenovo's commitment to social responsibility
Lenovo is committed to building exceptionally engineered PCs, helping change the
way people around the world use technology. Just as Lenovo is dedicated to prov
iding innovative technologies, we are equally devoted to ensuring that our produ
cts, employees, sites and suppliers are following the commitments we have made t
o socially responsible business practices.
Lenovo embraces the values of customer service, innovative and entrepreneurial s
pirit, and integrity. We seek to inte and fully embraces its policies and princi
ples. The UN Global Compact is a public-private strategic policy initiative for
businesses committed to aligning operations and strategies with ten universally
accepted principals in the area of human rights, labor, environment and anti-cor
ruption. In 2014, Lenovo was selected for inclusion in the first United Nations
Global Compact 100 (GC 100) - a new global stock index that combines corporate s
ustainability and baseline financial performance. The GC 100 marries corporate p
erformance on environmental and social issues with a requirement of basic profit
ability.
Lenovo's response to the 2014 CDP Climate Change and Supply Chain Questionnaire
achieved a disclosure score of 98 and performance of band B. The Disclosure Scor
e is assessed based on the quality and comprehensiveness of Lenovo's transparenc
y and the CDP Performance Score is assessed based on Lenovo's actions to combat
climate change, such as climate change mitigation and adaptation. Lenovo was inc
luded i
Lenovo is committed to the highest standards of integrity and responsibility whe
n working with all stakeholders. Lenovo provides guidance to its employees on a
wide range of ethical issues, such as reporting unlawful or inappropriate conduc
t, respecting and protecting intellectual property, trading in securities and co
mplying with governmental relations through its Employee Code of Conduct.
Employees are required to report any evidence of fraud, unethical business condu
ct, violation of laws, danger to health or safety or any other violation of corp
orate policies. Lenovo respects the intellectual property rights of other compan
ies and individuals, having helped lead the way in fighting piracy in China. In
mid-2005, the company began collaborating with Microsoft on an initiative to pro
mote the use and benefits of validly licensed Microsoft software products through
new and innovative joint sales, marketing and training programs in China. Lenov
o was the first PC supplier to take this important step, and this action compell
ed other market leaders in China to follow suit.

Lenovo Group Ltd. /l?n'o?vo?/ is a Chinese multinational computer technology com

pany with headquarters in Beijing, China, and Morrisville, North Carolina, Unite
d States.[4] It designs, develops, manufactures and sells personal computers, ta
blet computers, smartphones, workstations, servers, electronic storage devices,
IT management software and smart televisions. In 2014, Lenovo was the world's la
rgest personal computer vendor by unit sales.[5] It markets the ThinkPad line of

notebook computers and the ThinkCentre line of desktops.[6]

Lenovo has operations in more than 60 countries and sells its products in around
160 countries. Lenovo's principal facilities are in Beijing, Morrisville and Si
ngapore, with research centers in those locations, as well as Shanghai, Shenzhen
, Xiamen, and Chengdu in China, and Yamato in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It ope
rates a joint venture with EMC, LenovoEMC, which sells network-attached storage
solutions. It also has a joint venture with NEC, Lenovo NEC Holdings, which prod
uces personal computers for the Japanese market.
Lenovo was founded in Beijing in 1984 as Legend and was incorporated in Hong Kon
g in 1988. Lenovo acquired IBM's personal computer business in 2005 and agreed t
o acquire its Intel-based server business in 2014. Lenovo entered the smartphone
market in 2012 and as of 2014 is the largest vendor of smartphones in Mainland
China. In January 2014, Lenovo agreed to acquire the mobile phone handset maker
Motorola Mobility from Google, and in October 2014 the deal was finalized.[7][8]
Lenovo is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Han
g Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index, often referred to as "Red Chips."
"Lenovo" is a portmanteau of "Le-" (from Legend) and "novo", Latin ablative for
"new". The Chinese name (simplified Chinese: ??;traditional Chinese: ? ?; pinyin
: linxiang) means "association" (as in "word association") or "connected thinking
" but can also implycreativity.[9]
For the first 20 years of its existence, the company's English name was "Legend"
(in Chinese ?? Lianxiang). In 2002, Yang Yuanqingdecided to abandon use of the
Legend brand name in order to expand outside of China, as the "Legend" name was
already in use by many other businesses worldwide, making it impossible to regis
ter in most jurisdictions. In April 2003, the company publicly announced its new
name, "Lenovo", with a large media campaign involving huge outdoor billboards a
nd primetime television ads. Lenovo spent 18 million RMB on an eight-week televi
sion advertising campaign. The billboards featured the Lenovo logo against blue
sky with copy that read, "Transcendence depends on how you think." By the end of
2003, Lenovo had spent a total of 200 million RMB on rebranding.[10]
History[edit]
Founding and early history[edit]
Liu founded Lenovo in 1984 with a group of ten engineers in Beijing with 200,000
yuan. Lenovo officially states that it was founded on 1 November 1984. Lenovo's
incorporation was approved by the Chinese government on the same day. Jia Xufu,
one of the founders of Lenovo, indicates the first meeting in preparation for s
tarting the company was held on 17 October of the same year. Eleven people, the
entirety of the initial staff, attended. Each of the founders were middle-aged m
embers of the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Th
e 200,000 yuan used as start-up capital was approved by Zeng Maochao. The name f
or the company agreed upon at this meeting was the Chinese Academy of Sciences C
omputer Technology Research Institute New Technology Development Company.[10]
Their first significant effort, an attempt to import televisions, failed. The gr
oup rebuilt itself within a year by conducting quality checks on computers for n
ew buyers. Lenovo soon started developing a circuit board that would allow IBM-c
ompatible personal computers to process Chinese characters. This product was Len
ovo's first major success. Lenovo also tried and failed to market a digital watc
h. Liu said, "Our management team often differed on which commercial road to tra
vel. This led to big discussions, especially between the engineering chief and m
yself. He felt that if the quality of the product was good, then it would sell i
tself. But I knew this was not true, that marketing and other factors were part
of the eventual success of a product." Lenovo's early difficulties were compound
ed by the fact that its staff had little business experience. "We were mainly sc
ientists and didn't understand the market", Liu said. "We just learned by trialand-error, which was very interesting but also very dangerous", said Liu. In 1990,
Lenovo started to manufacture and market computers using its own brand name.[11
]
In May 1988, Lenovo placed its first advertisement seeking employees. The ad was
placed on the front page of the China Youth News. Such ads were quite rare in C
hina at this time. Out of 500 respondents, 280 were selected to take a written e

mployment exam. 120 of these candidates were interviewed in person. Although int
erviewers initially only had authority to hire 16 people, 58 were given offers.
The new staff included 18 people with graduate degrees, 37 with undergraduate de
grees, and three students with no university-level education. Their average age
was 26. Yang Yuanqing was among this group.[10]
Liu Chuanzhi, received government permission to open a subsidiary in Hong Kong a
nd was allowed to move there along with five other employees. Liu's father, alre
ady in Hong Kong, furthered his son's ambitions through mentoring and facilitati
ng loans. Liu moved to Hong Kong in 1988. In order to save money during this per
iod, Liu and his co-workers walked instead of taking public transportation. In o
rder to keep up appearances they rented hotel rooms for meetings.[10]
IPO and secondary offerings[edit]
Lenovo became publicly traded after a 1994 Hong Kong listing that raised nearly
US$30 million. Prior to its IPO, many analysts were optimistic about Lenovo. The
company was praised for its good management, strong brand recognition, and grow
th potential. Analysts also worried about Lenovo's profitability. Lenovo's IPO w
as massively over-subscribed. On its first day of trading, the company's stock p
rice hit a high of HK$2.07 and closed at HK$2.00. Proceeds from the offering wer
e used to finance sales offices in Europe, North America, and Australia; expand
and improve production and research and development; and increase working capita
l.
When Lenovo was first listed, its managers thought the only purpose of going pub
lic was to raise capital. They had little understanding of the rules and respons
ibilities that went along with running a public company. Before Lenovo conducted
its first secondary offering in 1997, Liu proudly announced the company's inten
t to mainland newspapers only to have its stock halted for two days by regulator
s to punish his statement. This occurred several times until Liu learned that he
had to choose his words carefully in public. The first time Liu traveled to Eur
ope on a "roadshow" to discuss his company's stock, he was shocked by the skepti
cal questions he was subjected to and felt offended. Liu later came to understan
d that he was accountable to shareholders. He said, "Before I only had one boss,
but CAS never asked me anything. I relied on my own initiative to do things. We
began to think about issues of credibility. Legend began to learn how to become
a truly international company."[10]
In order to get capital to fund its continued growth, Lenovo issued another seco
ndary offering of 50 million shares on the Hong Kong market in March 2000 and ra
ised about US$212 million.[10]
Mary Ma, Lenovo's chief financial officer from 1990 to 2007, was in charge of in
vestor relations. Under her leadership, Lenovo successfully integrated Western-s
tyle accountability into its corporate culture. Lenovo's emphasis on transparenc
y earned it a reputation for the best corporate governance among mainland Chines
e firms. All major issues regarding its board, management, major share transfers
, and mergers and acquisitions were fairly and accurately reported. While Hong K
ong listed firms were only required to issue financial reports twice per year, L
enovo followed the international norm of issuing quarterly reports. Lenovo creat
ed an audit committee and a compensation committee with non-management directors
. The company started roadshows twice per year to meet institutional investors.
Ma organized the first-ever investor relations conference held in Mainland China
. The conference was held in Beijing in 2002 and televised on CCTV. Liu and Ma c
o-hosted the conference and both gave speeches on corporate governance.[10]
Tianxi[edit]
The Tianxi was designed to make it easy for inexperienced Chinese consumers to u
se computers and access the internet. One of its most important features was a b
utton that instantly connected users to the internet and opened the web browser.
As of 2000, the Tianxi was the best-selling computer in Chinese history. It sol
d more than 1,000,000 units in 2000 alone.
Mergers and acquisitions[edit]
Lenovo works to integrate the management of each newly acquired company into its
larger culture. Lenovo has dedicated mergers and acquisitions team that tracks
the progress of these integrations. Lenovo has an annual meeting where the manag

ement of newly acquired companies meet with its top 100 executives. In these mee
tings, where English is the medium, Lenovo explains its global strategy and how
new executives fit in.[12]
IBM[edit]
The ThinkPad logo as shown on the ThinkPad x100e notebook computer.
Lenovo acquired IBM's personal computer business in 2005, including the ThinkPad
laptop and tablet lines.[13] Lenovo's acquisition of IBM's personal computer di
vision accelerated access to foreign markets while improving both its branding a
nd technology.[14] Lenovo paidUS$1.25 billion for IBM's computer business and as
sumed an additional US$500 million of IBM's debt. This acquisition made Lenovo t
he third-largest computer maker worldwide by volume.[15]
In regards to the purchase of IBM's personal computer division, Liu Chuanzhi sai
d, "We benefited in three ways from the IBM acquisition. We got the ThinkPad bra
nd, IBM's more advanced PC manufacturing technology and the company's internatio
nal resources, such as its global sales channels and operation teams. These thre
e elements have shored up our sales revenue in the past several years."[15]
IBM acquired an 18.9% shareholding in Lenovo in 2005 as part of Lenovo's purchas
e of IBM's personal computing division.[16] Since then, IBM has steadily reduced
its holdings of Lenovo stock. In July 2008, IBM's interest in Lenovo fell below
the 5% threshold that mandates public disclosure.[17]
IBM's Intel based server lines, including IBM System x and IBM BladeCenter were
sold to Lenovo in 2014.[18] Lenovo says it will gain access to more enterprise c
ustomers, improve its profit margins, and develop a closer relationship with Int
el, the maker of most server processors, through its acquisition of IBM's x86-ba
sed server business.[19] On 1 October 2014, Lenovo closed its acquisition of IBM s
server division, with the final price put at $2.1 billion.[20] Lenovo said this
acquisition came in at a price lower than the previously announced $2.3 billion
partially because of a change in the value of IBM inventories.
After closing, Lenovo said that its goal was to become the world's largest maker
of servers. Lenovo also announced plans to start integrating IBM's workforce.[2
1] The acquisition added about 6500 new employees to Lenovo. Lenovo said that it
has no immediate intent to cut jobs. Lenovo said that positions in research and
development and customer-facing roles such as marketing would be "100% protecte
d" but expected "rationalization" of its supply chain and procurement.[22]
Lenovo said that its x86 servers will be available to all its channel partners.
Lenovo plans to cut prices on x86 products in order to gain market share.[23]
Mobile devices[edit]
The Vibe X smartphone presented by models at launch.
Lenovo sold its smartphone and tablet division in 2008 for US$100 million in ord
er to focus on personal computers and then paidUS$200 million to buy it back in
November 2009.[24] As of 2009, the mobile division ranked third in terms of unit
share in China's mobile handset market.[25] Lenovo invested CN100 million in a f
und dedicated to providing seed funding for mobile application development for i
ts LeGarden online app store. As of 2010, LeGarden had more than 1,000 programs
available for the LePhone. At the same time, LeGarden counted 2,774 individual d
evelopers and 542 developer companies as members.[26]
Lenovo entered the smartphone market in 2012 and quickly became the largest vend
or of smartphones in Mainland China.[27] Entry into the smartphone market was pa
ired with a change of strategy from "the one-size-fits-all" to a diverse portfol
io of devices.[28] These changes were driven by the popularity of Apple's iPhone
and Lenovo's desire to increase its market share in mainland China. Lenovo pass
ed Apple to become the No. 2 provider of smartphones to the Chinese market in 20
12.[28] However, due to there being about 100 smartphone brands sold in China, t
his second only equated to a 10.4% market share.[28]
In May 2012, Lenovo announced an investment of US$793 million in the constructio
n of a mobile phone manufacturing and R&D facility in Wuhan, China.[29]

NEC[edit]
On January 27, 2011, Lenovo formed a joint venture to produce personal computers
with Japanese electronics firm NEC. The companies said in a statement that they
will establish a new company called Lenovo NEC Holdings B.V., which will be reg
istered in the Netherlands. NEC will receive US$175 million from Lenovo through
the issuance of Lenovo's shares. Lenovo will own a 51% stake in the joint ventur
e, while NEC will hold a 49% stake. Lenovo has a five-year option to expand its
stake in the joint venture.[30]
This joint venture is intended to boost Lenovo's worldwide sales by expanding it
s presence in Japan, a key market for personal computers. NEC has spun off its p
ersonal computer business into the joint venture. As of 2010, NEC controlled abo
ut 20% of Japan's market for personal computers while Lenovo had a 5% share. Len
ovo and NEC have also agreed to explore cooperating in other areas such as serve
rs and tablet computers.[31]
Roderick Lappin, chairman of the Lenovo-NEC joint venture, told the press that t
he two companies will expand their co-operation to include the joint development
of tablet computers.[32]
In April 2014 Lenovo purchased a portfolio of patents from NEC related to mobile
technology. These include over 3,800 patent families in countries around the wo
rld. The purchase includes standard essential patents for 3G and LTE cellular te
chnologies and other patents related to smartphones and tablets.[33]
Medion[edit]
In June 2011, Lenovo announced that it planned to acquire control of Medion, a G
erman electronics manufacturing company. Lenovo said the acquisition would doubl
e its share of the German computer market, making it the third-largest vendor by
sales (after Acer and Hewlett-Packard). The deal, which closed in the third qua
rter of the same year, was the first in which a Chinese company acquired a wellknown German company.[34]
This acquisition will give Lenovo 14% of the German computer market. Gerd Brachm
ann, chairman of Medion, agreed to sell two-thirds of his 60 percent stake in th
e company. He will be paid in cash for 80 percent of the shares and will receive
20 percent in Lenovo stock. That would give him about one percent of Lenovo.[34
]
CCE[edit]
In September 2012, Lenovo agreed to acquire the Brazil-based electronics company
Digibras, which sells products under the brand-name CCE, for a base price of 30
0 million reals (US$148 million) in a combination of stock and cash and an addit
ional 400 million reals dependent upon performance benchmarks.[35][36] Prior to
its acquisition of CCE, Lenovo already established a $30 million factory in Braz
il, but Lenovo's management had felt that they needed a local partner to maximis
e regional growth. Lenovo cited their desire to take advantage of increased sale
s due to the 2014 World Cup that will be hosted by Brazil and the 2016 Summer Ol
ympics and CCE's reputation for quality.[37]Following the acquisition, Lenovo an
nounced that its subsequent acquisitions would be concentrated in the areas of s
oftware and IT services.[38]
Stoneware[edit]
In September 2012, Lenovo agreed to acquire the United States-based software com
pany Stoneware, in its first software acquisition. The transaction was expected
to close by the end of 2012; no financial details have been disclosed.[39][40] L
enovo said that the company was acquired in order to gain access to new technolo
gy and that Stoneware is not expected to significantly affect earnings. More spe
cifically, Stoneware was acquired to further Lenovo's efforts to improve and exp
and its cloud-computing services. For the two years prior to its acquisition, St
oneware partnered with Lenovo to sell its software. During this period Stoneware
's sales doubled. Stoneware was founded in 2000. As of September 2012, Stoneware
is based in Carmel, Indiana and has 67 employees.[41][42]
LenovoEMC[edit]
The signing ceremony for the LenovoEMC joint venture

Main article: LenovoEMC

Lenovo and EMC formed LenovoEMC as a joint venture to offer network attached sto
rage (NAS) solutions. LenovoEMC's products were formerly offered under the Iomeg
a brand name. After the formation of LenovoEMC, Iomega ceased to exist as busine
ss unit. LenovoEMC's products are designed for small and medium-sized that do no
t have the budgets for enterprise-class data storage. LenovoEMC is part of a bro
ader partnership between the two companies announced in August 2012.[43] This pa
rtnership also includes an effort to develop x86-based servers and allowing Leno
vo to act as an OEM for some EMC hardware. Lenovo is expected to benefit from th
e relatively high profit margins of the NAS market. LenovoEMC is part of Lenovo'
s Enterprise Products Group.[44][45]
Motorola Mobility[edit]
On 29 January 2014, Google announced it would sell Motorola Mobility to Lenovo f
or US$2.91 billion in a cash-and-stock deal. When Google and Lenovo first announ
ced the acquisition of Motorola, they said the purchase would be funded with $66
0 million in cash, $750 million in Lenovo stock, and a $1.5 billion promissory n
ote due in three years. As of February 2014, Google owns about 5.94% of Lenovo's
stock. The deal includes smartphone lines like the Moto X and Moto G and the Dr
oid Turbo. Lenovo also got the future Motorola Mobility product roadmap. Google
will retain the Advanced Technologies & Projects unit and all but 2,000 of the c
ompany's patents.[46] Lenovo will receive royalty free licenses to all the paten
ts retained by Google.[47]
Yang Yuanqing stated that "the acquisition of such an iconic brand, innovative p
roduct portfolio and incredibly talented global team will immediately make Lenov
o a strong global competitor in smartphones."[48][49][50] Yang also said, Don t be
scared by the $1 billion-a-year loss. We will improve that even from day one. Go
ogle is very good at software, ecosystems and services. But we are stronger in t
he manufacturing of devices. Yang said that Lenovo would make Motorola profitable
within six quarters.[46]
Lenovo has stated that Motorola was purchased in large part due to its long-stan
ding relationships with cellular network operators in the United States and the
United Kingdom. Lenovo previously had difficulty breaking into the United Kingdo
m due to the high proportion of customers who sign contracts and receive phones
from carriers. A Lenovo executive said, There are lots of reasons why we bought M
otorola but primarily because it has a history of distribution in the UK. Motoro
la has long and established relationships with routes to market in North America
and the UK, where people are tied to their network operator."[51]
Lenovo received approval from the European Union for its acquisition of Motorola
in June 2014. In a statement the European Union said, ""The Commission conclude
d that the proposed acquisition would not raise competition concerns in relation
to smart mobile devices (smartphones and tablets), given the limited market pos
ition of the parties and the presence of other strong suppliers in the market."
At the time of the EU approval Lenovo said it was on track to win final approval
of the merger in the United States.[52]
The acquisition was completed on 30 October 2014. Motorola Mobility will remain
headquartered in Chicago, and continue to use the Motorola brand, but Liu Jun pres
ident of Lenovo's mobile device business, became the company's chairman.[8][53]
Nok Nok Labs[edit]
Lenovo invested in Nok Nok Labs, a firm dedicated to improving computer security
by eliminating the use of passwords in favor of voice recognition, fingerprint
scanning, and other technologies. Lenovo has at least one seat on Nok Nok's boar
d. Both Nok Nok and Lenovo were founding members of the FIDO (Fast IDentity Onli
ne) Alliance, a group of over 100 companies including Google, Microsoft and PayP
al that wants to create a new cyber security ecosystem. The companies behind the
initiative aim to stop users from creating easily guessed passwords, often used
for multiple sites, that make it easy for hackers to steal information and seiz
e control of social media accounts. The most common passwords are still "123456"
and "password".[54]
Products and services[edit]
Personal and business computing[edit]

Lenovo's PC division was formed in 2005 through its acquisition of IBM's PC busi
ness, including its ThinkPad and ThinkCenter lines. Shipments of Think-branded c
omputers have doubled since Lenovo's takeover of the brand, with operating margi
ns thought to be above 5%.[55] Lenovo has aggressively expanded the ThinkPad bra
nd away from traditional laptop computers in favor of tablets and hybrid devices
such as the ThinkPad Tablet 2, ThinkPad Yoga, ThinkPad 8, ThinkPad Helix, and T
hinkPad Twist; the shift came as a response to the growing popularity of mobile
devices, and the release of Windows 8 in October 2012. Lenovo has achieved signi
ficant success with this high-value strategy and it now controls more than 40% o
f the market for Windows computers priced above $900 in the United States.[56]
ThinkPad[edit]
Main article: ThinkPad
A Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Ultrabook
ThinkPad is a line of business-oriented laptop computers known for their boxy bl
ack design, modeled after a traditional Japaneselunchbox.[57] ThinkPads were ori
ginally an IBM product; they have been manufactured and sold by Lenovo since ear
ly 2005, following its acquisition of IBM's personal computer division. The Thin
kPad has been used in space and is the only laptop certified for use on theInter
national Space Station.[58]
ThinkCentre[edit]
Main article: ThinkCentre
ThinkCentre is a line of business-oriented Desktop computers which was introduce
d in 2003 by IBM and since has been produced and sold by Lenovo since 2005.[59]
ThinkCentre computers typically include mid-range to high-end processors, option
s for discrete graphics cards, and multi-monitor support.[60][60]
ThinkServer[edit]
Main article: ThinkServer
The ThinkServer product line began with the TS100 from Lenovo.[61] The server wa
s developed under agreement with IBM, by which Lenovo would produce single-socke
t and dual-socket servers based on IBM s xSeries technology.[61] An additional fea
ture of the server design was a support package aimed at small businesses.[61] T
he focus of this support package was to provide small businesses with software t
ools to ease the process of server management and reduce dependence on IT suppor
t.[62]
ThinkStation[edit]
Main article: ThinkStation
The ThinkStation products from Lenovo are workstations designed for high-end com
puting. In 2008, Lenovo expanded the focus of its THINK brand to include workstati
ons, with the ThinkStation S10 being the first model released.
ThinkVision displays[edit]
High-end computer displays are marketed under the ThinkVision name. ThinkVision
displays share a common design language with other THINK devices such as the Thi
nkPadline of notebook computers and ThinkCentre desktops.
At the 2014 International CES, Lenovo announced the ThinkVision Pro2840m, a 28-i
nch 4K display aimed at professionals selling for $799 in the United States. Len
ovo also announced another 28-inch 4K touch-enabled device running Android that
can function as an all-in-one PC or an external display for other devices; It wi
ll sell for $1,199 in the United States. Both will be available in mid-2014.[63]
IdeaPad[edit]
Main article: IdeaPad
A model with a Lenovo IdeaPad at a launch party in Japan.
The IdeaPad line of consumer-oriented laptop computers was introduced in January
2008. The IdeaPad is the result of Lenovo's own research and development; Unlik
e the ThinkPad line of notebooks, its design and branding were not inherited fro
m IBM. The IdeaPad line's design language differs markedly from the ThinkPad and
has a more consumer-focused look and feel.[64][65]

In October 2012 the firm launched the IdeaPad Yoga 13, a laptop running Microsof
t Corp's Windows 8 that can be converted to a tablet PC by flipping the screen a
ll the way backwards.[66] Lenovo has subsequently released the IdeaPad Yoga 11 r
unning Windows RT and announced the IdeaPad Yoga 11S running Windows 8. Lenovo's
Yoga products reflect the company's commitment to the "PC plus era" where innov
ative products allow Lenovo to resist commodity pricing of PCs.
In November 2013, Lenovo introduced the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro, an Ultrabook-class co
nvertible device that can be used as both a tablet and laptop computer. The Yoga
2 Pro is thinner than the Yoga 13 and has tapered edges giving it an appearance
more like a conventional ultrabook laptop vs the earlier model's pleasing "book
-like" symmetrical design. At 1.39 kilograms, the Yoga 2 Pro is significantly li
ghter than the Yoga 13. The Yoga 2 Pro has a subtle rubber trim around the edge
of its top half in order to prevent slipping on hard surfaces when in tent mode.
The new design is easier to pick up and hold than Lenovo's previous generation
of Yoga devices. The Yoga 2 Pro comes with a backlit keyboard. Unlike earlier Yo
ga products, the home button is now a touch-key on the bottom center of the disp
lay. Lenovo moved the power button away from the front and to the side in order
to prevent accidental key presses.[67][68]
In October 2014, Lenovo introduced the Yoga 3 Pro, an ultra-thin Broadwell-based
13.3-inch touchscreen laptop with a hinge that allows for use as a tablet and o
ther configurations. It uses Intel Core M processors and comes standard with sol
id-state drives. Its screen has 3200 pixel by 1800 pixel resolution and is multi
touch capable.[69] It is 13 millimeters thick.[70] The Yoga 3 Pro's hinge differ
s significantly from the Yoga 2 Pro. The new all-metal hinge is referred to by L
enovo as a "watchband." It is much less bulky and forms a continuous curved shap
e from the chassis of the laptop to the bottom of the screen. It has six mountin
g points as opposed to two for a more solid feel and structural strength.[71]
IdeaCentre[edit]
Main article: IdeaCentre
A Lenovo IdeaCentre all-in-one PC
All IdeaCentres are all-in-one machines, combining processor and monitor into a
single unit.[72] The desktops were described by HotHardware as being "uniquely d
esigned".[72] The first IdeaCentre desktop, the IdeaCentre K210, was announced b
y Lenovo on June 30, 2008.[73] While IdeaCentre was designed to be purely deskto
p models, influences of the IdeaPad line were observed.[73] One such feature was
Veriface facial recognition technology.[73]
At CES 2011, Lenovo announced the launch of four IdeaCentre desktops: the A320,
B520, B320, and C205.[72] In the autumn of 2012, the firm introduced the more po
werful IdeaCentre A720, with a 27-inch touchscreen display and running Windows 8
.[74] With a TV tuner and HDMI in, the A720 can also serve as a multimedia hub o
r home theater PC.[75]
In 2013 Lenovo added a table computer to the IdeaCentre line. The Lenovo IdeaCen
tre Horizon Table PC, introduced at the 2013International CES is a 27-inch table
t computer designed for simultaneous use by multiple people. Thanks to its use o
f Windows 8 the Horizon can also serve as desktop computer when set upright.[76]
Smartphones[edit]
Main article: Lenovo smartphones
The ThinkPad Tablet 2 from front and back.
Lenovo launched the LePhone in China in order to compete against other smart pho
nes. These same phones are marketed as IdeaPhones outside of China
As of January 2013, Lenovo only manufactures phones that use the Android operati
ng system from Google. Numerous press reports indicated that Lenovo planned to r
elease a phone running Windows Phone 8, According to JD Howard, a vice president
at Lenovo's mobile division, the company would release a Windows Phone product
if there is market demand.[77]
Lenovo has implemented an aggressive strategy to replace Samsung Electronics as

Mainland China market's top smartphone vendor. It has spent $793.5 million in Wu
han in order to build a plant that can produce 30 to 40 million phones per year.
Data from Analysys International shows that Lenovo experienced considerable gro
wth in smartphone sales in China during 2012. Specifically, it saw its market sh
are increase to 14.2% during 2012's third quarter, representing an increase when
compared to 4.8% in the same quarter of 2011. IDC analysts said that Lenovo's s
uccess is due to its "aggressive ramping-up and improvements in channel partners
hips." Analysys International analyst Wang Ying wrote, "Lenovo possesses an obvi
ous advantage over rivals in terms of sales channels." The company's CEO, Yang Y
uanqing, said, "Lenovo does not want to be the second player ... we want to be t
he best. Lenovo has the confidence to outperform Samsung and Apple, at least in
the Chinese market."[78]
According to IHS iSuppli, Lenovo was a top-three smartphone maker in China with
a 16.5% market share in the first quarter of 2012. According to a May report rel
eased by IDC Lenovo ranks fourth in the global tablet market by volume.[79] As o
f November 2012, Lenovo was the second largest seller of mobile phones in China
when measured by volume.[27]
In May 2013, Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing indicated that the company had aimed to re
lease smartphones in the United States within the next year. Later in October, L
enovo expressed interest in acquiring the Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry L
td. However, its attempt was reportedly blocked by the Government of Canada, cit
ing security concerns due to the use of BlackBerry devices by prominent members
of the government. An official stated that "we have been pretty consistent that
the message is Canada is open to foreign investment and investment from China in
particular but not at the cost of compromising national security".[49][80]
In January 2014, Lenovo announced a proposed deal to acquire Motorola Mobility t
o bolster its plans for the U.S. market.[48] Microsoft officially announced that
Lenovo became the hardware partner of Windows Phone platform at the Mobile Worl
d Congress 2014.[81]
Tablets[edit]
In April 2014, Lenovo announced the new Lenovo Tab A7-30, Lenovo Tab A7-50, Leno
vo Tab A8 and Lenovo Tab A10 tablets.[82] At the IFA 2014 in Berlin Lenovo annou
nced their first Intel Atom-powered android tablet known as Tab S8 and character
ized by a low price.[citation needed]
On October 9, 2014, Lenovo unveiled 6 new Yoga tablets with Android and Windows
OS, ranging from 8-inch, to 10.1-inch and 13.3-inch in size.
Smart televisions[edit]
A Lenovo A30 TV set top box
Main article: Lenovo LeTV
In November 2011, Lenovo said it would soon unveil a smart television product ca
lled LeTV, expected for release in the first quarter of 2012. "The PC, communica
tions and TV industries are currently undergoing a smart transformation. In the fu
ture, users will have many smart devices and will desire an integrated experienc
e of hardware, software and cloud services." Liu Jun, president of Lenovo's mobi
le-Internet and digital-home-business division.[83] In June 2013 Lenovo announce
d a partnership with Sharp to produce smart televisions. In March 2014, Lenovo a
nnounced that it projected smart television sales surpassing one million units f
or 2014. The same month Lenovo released its flagship S9 featuring the fastest CP
U of any smart television.[84]
Wearables[edit]
Rumors that Lenovo was developing a wearable device were confirmed in October 20
14 after the company submitted a regulatory finding to the Federal Communication
s Commission. The device, branded a "Smartband," has a battery life of seven day
s. It has an optical heart-rate monitor and can be used to track distance and ti
me spent running and calories burned. It can also notify the user of incoming ca
lls and texts.[85] It can also unlock computers without the use of a password. T
he Smartband went on sale in October 2014. Lenovo started offering the device fo
r sale on its website without a formal product announcement.[86]

Operations[edit]
Lenovo's principal facilities are in Beijing, Morrisville, North Carolina and Si
ngapore, with research centers in those locations, as well as Shanghai, Shenzhen
, Xiamen, andChengdu in China, and Yamato in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.[87] Len
ovo operates factories in Chengdu and Hefei in China, Japan, and as of December
2011 has plans to start production in Argentina. A 7,500 square foot flagship st
ore opened in Beijing in February 2013.[28]
The Lenovo R&D centre inShenzhen, China
Lenovo's manufacturing operations are a departure from the usual industry practi
ce of outsourcing to contract manufacturers. Lenovo instead focuses on vertical
integration in order to avoid excessive reliance on original equipment manufactu
rers and to keep down costs.[88] Speaking on this topic, Yang Yuanqing said, "Se
lling PCs is like selling fresh fruit. The speed of innovation is very fast, so
you must know how to keep up with the pace, control inventory, to match supply w
ith demand and handle very fast turnover." Lenovo benefited from its vertical in
tegration after flooding affected hard-drive manufacturers in Thailand in 2011,
as the company could continue manufacturing operations by shifting production to
wards products for which hard drives were still available.[89][90]
Lenovo began to emphasize vertical integration after a meeting in 2009 in which
CEO Yang Yuanqing, and the head of Lenovo's supply chain, analyzed the costs ver
sus the benefits of in-house manufacturing, and decided to make at least 50% of
Lenovo's manufacturing in-house. Lenovo Chief Technology Officer George He said
that vertical integration is having an important role in product development. He
stated, "If you look at the industry trends, most innovations for" PCs, smartph
ones, tablets and smart TVs are related to innovation of key components display, b
attery and storage. Differentiation of key parts is so important. So we started
investing more...and working very closely with key parts suppliers."[90] Previou
sly, lack of integration due to numerous foreign acquisitions and an excessive n
umber of "key performance indicators" (KPIs) was making Lenovo's expansion expen
sive and creating unacceptably slow delivery times to end-customers. Lenovo resp
onded by reducing the number of KPIs from 150 to 5, offering intensive training
to managers, and working to create a global Lenovo culture. Lenovo also doubleddown on vertical integration and manufacturing near target markets in order to c
ut costs at time when its competitors were making increased use of outsourcing o
ff-shoring. By 2013, Lenovo ranked 20th on Gartner's list of top 50 supply chain
s, whereas in 2010 the company was unranked.[12]
In 2012, Lenovo partially moved production of its ThinkPad line of computers to
Japan. ThinkPads will be produced by NEC in Yamagata Prefecture. Akaemi Watanabe
, president of Lenovo Japan, said, "As a Japanese, I am glad to see the return t
o domestic production and the goal is to realize full-scale production as this w
ill improve our image and make the products more acceptable to Japanese customer
s. [90][91]
In October 2012, Lenovo announced that it would start assembling computers in Wh
itsett, North Carolina. Production of desktop and laptop computers, including th
e ThinkPad Helix began in January 2013. As of July 2013, 115 workers were employ
ed at this facility. Lenovo has been in Whitsett since 2008, where it also has c
enters for logistics, customer service, and return processing.[92][93]
In May 2014, Lenovo announced that it planned to double its work force in most c
ountries.[94]
Corporate affairs[edit]
The company executive headquarters are in Morrisville, North Carolina,[95][96] n
ear Raleigh in the Research Triangle metropolitan area,[97] in the United States
.[98] As of October 2012, the facility has about 2,000 employees.[99] Lenovo ide
ntifies its facilities in Morrisville, Beijing, and Singapore as its "key locati
on addresses,"[100] where its principal operations occur.[95] The company stated
that "by foregoing a traditional headquarters model and focusing on centers of
excellence around the world, Lenovo makes the maximum use of its resources to cr
eate the best products in the most efficient and effective way possible."[101] T

he company registered office is on the 23rd floor of the Lincoln House building
of the TaiKoo Place in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong.[102]
Previously the company's U.S. headquarters were in Purchase, Harrison, New York.
About 70 people worked there. In 2006, Lenovo announced that it was consolidati
ng its U.S. headquarters, a logistics facility in Boulder, Colorado, and a call
center in Atlanta, Georgia to a new facility in Morrisville. The company receive
d offers of over $11 million in incentive funds from the local Morrisville, NC a
rea and from the State of North Carolina on the condition that the company emplo
ys about 2,200 people.[103] If the company failed to employ that amount, it woul
d not acquire the incentives.[104]
Financials and market share[edit]
Lenovo is the dominant supplier of computers in mainland China and became the wo
rld's second-largest supplier of personal computers during the third quarter of
2011. Lenovo held around 13.5% of the worldwide computer market as of October 20
11. The company's expansion was boosted in part by a joint venture with NEC in J
apan and aggressive marketing to both professionals and consumers. Yang Yuanqing
said that Lenovo would continue its expansion by focusing on technological conv
ergence in the areas of smart phones, tablets, personal computers, and "smart TV
." "We must deliver a great user experience across all platforms to achieve our
goal and become the leading personal technology company in the world," he said.
In the second quarter of 2011, Lenovo was the world's third-largest vendor of pe
rsonal computers.[105] For the year ending with third quarter 2010, its market s
hare increased from 8.6 percent to 10.4 percent.[106] The company is the largest
seller of PCs in China, with a 28.6% share of the China market, according to re
search firm IDC in July 2009. It reported annual sales of $14.9 billion for the
fiscal year ending 2008/2009 (ending March 31, 2009).
During the first quarter of 2011, Lenovo held 31.7% of the personal computer mar
ket in China when measured by units sold. Lenovo reported a 98.3 percent rise in
profit to $108.8 million during the first quarter of 2011, up from $54.86 milli
on during the same quarter of the previous year. Lenovo shipped 10.28 million pe
rsonal computers in the first quarter of 2011. Lenovo reported a 54-percent rise
in profit for the third quarter of 2011, beating analyst predictions, in spite
of slow sales growth and a shortage of hard drives.[107]
From March 4, 2013 Lenovo was included as a constituent stock in the Hang Seng I
ndex. Lenovo replaced the unprofitable Aluminum Corp of China, a state-owned ent
erprise, on the list of 50 key companies on the Hong Kong stock exchange that co
nstitute the Hang Seng Index. The inclusion of Lenovo and Tencent, China's large
st internet firm, significantly increased the weight of the technology sector on
the index. Being added to the Hang Seng Index was a significant boon for Lenovo
and its shareholders as it widened the pool of investors willing to purchase Le
novo's stock. For instance, index funds pegged to the Hang Seng and pension fund
s that consider index inclusion now have the opportunity to invest in Lenovo.[10
8] On November 2013 it was reported that Lenovo achieved double digit market sha
re in the United States for the first time.[109]
Ownership[edit]
As of October 1, 2011, 58% of Lenovo stock was held by the general public, 34% b
y Legend Holdings Limited, and 8% by other entities. The Chinese Academy of Scie
nces owns 36% of Legend Holdings.[110]
On September 4, 2009, Oceanwide Holdings Group, a private investment firm based
in Beijing, bought 29% of Legend Holdings, the parent company of Lenovo, for 2.7
6 billion yuan.[111]
Responding to claims that Lenovo is a state owned enterprise CEO Yang Yuanqing s
aid: "Our company is a 100% market oriented company. Some people have said we ar
e a state owned enterprise. It's 100% not true. In 1984 the Chinese Academy of S
ciences only invested $25,000 in our company. The purpose of the Chinese Academy
of Sciences to invest in this company was that they wanted to commercialize the
ir research results. The Chinese Academy of Sciences is a pure research entity i
n China, owned by the government. From this point, you could say we're different
from state-owned enterprises. Secondly, after this investment, this company is
run totally by the founders and management team. The government has never been i

nvolved in our daily operation, in important decisions, strategic direction, nom

ination of the CEO and top executives and financial management. Everything is do
ne by our management team."[112]
In early 2006, the U.S. State Department was harshly criticized for purchasing 1
6,000 computers from Lenovo. Critics attempted to smear Lenovo as controlled by
the Chinese government and a potential vehicle for espionage against the United
States. Yang spoke out forcefully and publicly to defend Lenovo. He said, " We a
re not a government-controlled company." He pointed out that Lenovo pioneered Ch
ina's transition to a market economy and that in the early 1990s had fought and
beaten four state owned enterprises that dominated the Chinese computer market.
Those firms had the full backing of the state while Lenovo received no special t
reatment. The State Department deal went through. Yang worried that fears about
Lenovo's supposed connections to the Chinese government would be an ongoing issu
e in the United States. Yang worked to ease worries by communicating directly wi
th Congress. In June 2006, Yang arranged to be seated next to C. Richard D'Amato
, a member of the congressional committee that had earlier raised concerns about
the security of Lenovo's products. D'Amato later stated that he was impressed w
ith Yang's candor. The issue soon faded away.[citation needed]
Yang dramatically increased his ownership stake in by acquiring 797 million shar
es in 2011. As of June 2011, Yang owned an 8 percent stake in Lenovo. He previou
sly owned only 70 million shares. In a statement, Yang said, "While the transact
ion is a personal financial matter, I want to be very clear that my decision to
make this investment is based on my strong belief in the company's very bright f
we do what we say, and w
uture. Our culture is built on commitment and ownership
e own what we do. My decision to increase my holdings represents my steadfast be
lief in these principles."[113]
Corporate culture[edit]
Lenovo's corporate culture differs significantly from most large Chinese compani
es. While Lenovo was founded using seed capital from the state-owned Chinese Aca
demy of Sciences, Lenovo is run as a private enterprise with little or no interf
erence by the state. Lenovo's senior executives, including many non-Chinese, rot
ate between two head offices, one in Beijing and the other in Morrisville, North
Carolina, and Lenovo's research and development center in Japan. Two Westerners
have served as Lenovo's CEO.[55]
English is Lenovo's official language. Lenovo's CEO, Yang Yuanqing, initially di
d not understand English well, but relocated his family to Morrisville in order
to improve his language skills and soak up American culture. One American Lenovo
executive interviewed by The Economist praised Yang for his efforts to make Len
ovo a friendly place for foreigners to work. He said that Yang had created a "pe
rformance culture" in place of the traditional Chinese work style of "waiting to
see what the emperor wants."[55]
When Yang took over Lenovo's personal computer division, he strongly discouraged
the use of formal titles and required staff to address each other by their give
n names. Yang even required managers to stand outside their offices each morning
to greet their employees while carrying signs with their first names. When Yang
's division moved to a new building in 1997, he used the move to break Lenovo's
cultural links to the past by insisting on a more formal dress code and training
all employees in telephone etiquette; Yang wanted his people to think and act l
ike high-tech workers in developed markets.
Leadership[edit]
Yang Yuanqing[edit]
Main article: Yang Yuanqing
Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo's Chairman and CEO
Yang Yuanqing is the chairman and chief executive officer of Lenovo. One of his
major achievements was leading Lenovo to become the best-selling personal comput
er brand in China since 1997. In 2001, Business Week named him one of Asia's ris
ing stars in business.[114]Yang was president and CEO of Lenovo until 2004, when
Lenovo closed its acquisition of IBM's PC division, afterward Yang was succeede

d as Lenovo CEO by IBM's Stephen M. Ward, Jr. Ward was succeeded by Bill Amelio
on December 20, 2005. On February 2009, Yang replaced Amelio as CEO and has serv
ed in that capacity ever since. Yang was chairman of Lenovo's board from 2004 to
2008, and returned as chairman in 2012 alongside his role as CEO.
In 2012, Yang received a $3 million bonus as a reward for record profits, which
he in-turn redistributed to about 10,000 of Lenovo's employees. According to Len
ovo spokesman, Jeffrey Shafer, Yang felt that it would be the right thing to, red
irect [the money] to the employees as a real tangible gesture for what they done
. Shafer also said that Yang, who owns about eight percent of Lenovo's stock, "fe
lt that he was rewarded well simply as the owner of the company. [115] The bonuses
were mostly distributed among staff working in positions such as production and
reception who received an average of 2,000 yuan or about US$314. This was almos
t equivalent to a monthly salary of an average worker in China.[116] Yang made a
similar gift of $3.25 million again in 2013.[117]
According to Lenovo's annual report, Yang earned $14 million, including $5.2 mil
lion in bonuses, during the fiscal year that ended in March 2012.[118]
In 2013, Barron's named Yang one of the "World's Best CEOs."[119]
Liu Chuanzhi[edit]
Main article: Liu Chuanzhi
Liu Chuanzhi is the founder and chairman of Lenovo. Liu was trained as an engine
er at a military college and later went on to work at the Chinese Academy of Sci
ences. Like many young people during the Cultural Revolution, Liu was denounced
and sent to the countryside where he worked as a laborer on a rice farm.
Liu claims Hewlett-Packard as a key source of inspiration. In an interview with
The Economist he stated that "Our earliest and best teacher was Hewlett-Packard.
" For more than ten years, Lenovo was Hewlett-Packard's distributor in China.[12
0] In reference to Lenovo's later acquisition of IBM's personal computer unit Li
u said, "I remember the first time I took part in a meeting of IBM agents. I was
wearing an old business suit of my father's and I sat in the back row. Even in
my dreams, I never imagined that one day we could buy the IBM PC business. It wa
s unthinkable. Impossible."[11]
Board of directors[edit]
In early 2013, Lenovo announced the addition of Yahoo founder Jerry Yang to its
board. Lenovo's CEO Yang Yuanqing said, "Jerry s appointment as an observer to our
board furthers Lenovo s reputation as a transparent international company." Just
prior to the appointment of Jerry Yang, Tudor Brown the founder of British semic
onductor design firmARM, was also appointed to Lenovo's board. Speaking of both
men Yang Yuanqing said, "We believe that they will add a great deal to our strat
egic thinking, long-term direction and, ultimately, our ability to achieve our a
spirations in the PC plus era."
Marketing and sponsorships[edit]
Emerging markets[edit]
In 2009 Lenovo became the first personal computer manufacturer to divide countri
es into emerging markets, such as China, India, and Brazil, and mature markets,
such as the United States, Japan, and Europe. Lenovo then developed a different
set of strategies for each category. This approach has now been widely adopted a
mong Lenovo's competitors.[15]
In 2012, Lenovo made a major effort to expand its market share in developing eco
nomies such as Brazil and India through acquisitions and increased budgets for m
arketing and advertising. While Lenovo has not revealed its total spending on ma
rketing, it did increase marketing and advertising expenditures by $248 million
in the fiscal year ending in 2012.[55]
China[edit]
A Lenovo Store in China
In China, Lenovo has a vast distribution network designed to make sure that ther
e is at least one shop selling Lenovo computers within 50 kilometers of nearly a
ll consumers. Lenovo has also developed close relationships with its Chinese dis
tributors, who are granted exclusive territories and only carry Lenovo products.

[55]
As of July 2013, Lenovo believes that urbanization initiatives being pushed by P
remier Li Keqiang will allow it to sustain sales growth in mainland China for th
e foreseeable future. Speaking of Lenovo s prospects on the mainland at its annual
general meeting in Hong Kong in 2013, Yang Yuanqing said: I believe urbanisation
will help us further increase the overall [domestic] PC market. Yang also stress
ed the opportunity presented by the China's relatively low penetration rate of p
ersonal computers. Lenovo previously benefited from the Chinese government s rural
subsidy, part of a wider economic stimulus initiative, designed to increase pur
chases of appliances and electronics. That program of subsidies, which Lenovo jo
ined in 2004, ended in 2011. Lenovo enjoys consistent price premiums over its tr
aditional competitors in rural markets and a stronger local sales and service pr
esence.[121]
India[edit]
Lenovo has gained significant market share in India through bulk orders to large
companies and government agencies. For example, the government of Tamil Nadu or
dered a million laptops from Lenovo in 2012 and single-handedly made the firm a
market leader. Lenovo distributes most of the personal computers it sells in Ind
ia through five national distributors such as Ingram Micro and Redington.[122]
Given that most smartphones and tablets are sold to individuals Lenovo is pursui
ng a different strategy making use of many small state-centric distributors. Ama
r Babu, Lenovo's managing director for India, said, "To reach out to small towns
and the hinterland, we have tied up with 40 regional distributors. We want our
regional distributors to be exclusive to us. We will, in turn, ensure they have
exclusive rights to distribute Lenovo products in their catchment area."[122] As
of 2013, Lenovo had about 6,000 retailers selling smartphones and tablets in In
dia. In February 2013, Lenovo established a relationship with Reliance Communica
tions to sell smartphones. The smartphones carried by Reliance have dual-SIM cap
ability and support both GSM and CDMA. Babu claims that the relative under-penet
ration of smartphones in India represents an opportunity for Lenovo.[122]
Lenovo has assembled a team of senior managers familiar with the Indian market,
launched mobile phones at all price points there, and worked on branding and mar
keting in order to build market share. As of February 2014, Lenovo claims that i
ts sales of smartphones in India have been increasing 100% per quarter while the
market is only growing 15-20% over the same period. Lenovo did marketing tests
of its smartphones in November 2012 in Gujarat and some southern cities, where L
enovo already had a strong presence. Lenovo's strategy has been create awareness
, maintain a broad selection of phones at all price points, and developing distr
ibution networks. Lenovo partnered with two national distributors and over 100 l
ocal distributors. As of February 2014, more than 7,000 retail outlets in India
sold Lenovo smartphones. Lenovo has also partnered with HCL in order to set up 2
50 service centres in 110 cities.[123]
In India, where Lenovo is relatively unknown, Lenovo grants distributors exclusi
ve territories, but allows them to sell computers from other companies. Lenovo u
ses its close relationships with distributors to gain market intelligence and sp
eed up product development.
Lenovo reported a year-on-year increase of about 951% in tablet sales in India f
or the first quarter of 2014. Canalys, a market research firm, said Lenovo took
market share away from Apple and Samsung in the country.[94]
Africa[edit]
Lenovo plans to release its smartphones in Nigeria in the second half of 2013 in
an effort to find markets where it can sell directly to consumers. Lenovo speci
fically picked Nigeria, because unlike South Africa and other African countries,
there is no requirement to partner with a local telecom firm to sell its phones
. Nigeria is Africa's second-largest economy after South Africa. Lenovo will sel
l its phones across as many as six price segments with the most expensive sellin
g for about US$500. Lenovo says it is investigating the rest of Africa and that
Egypt will be its next target for expansion.[124]
United States[edit]
In the United States, Lenovo began the "For Those Who Do" marketing campaign in

2010, created by the ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The campaign was Lenovo's firs
t to go global, with the exception of its domestic market in China, where it ret
ained its existing "Imagine" (lian xiang) slogan. The campaign did not reach Chi
na because "do" carries connotations of physical work in the country, an image t
hat Lenovo did not want attached to their brand.[125] "For Those Who Do" was des
igned to appeal to young consumers in the 18-to 25-year-old demographic by stres
sing its utility to creative individuals that Lenovo's advertising refers to as
"doers".[126]
Ashton Kutcher[edit]
Main article: Ashton Kutcher
In October 2013 Lenovo announced that it had hired Ashton Kutcher as a product e
ngineer and spokesman. Kutcher announced Lenovo's Yoga Tablet at a media event t
he same month; He flew to China to meet with Lenovo executives shortly after. Da
vid Roman, Lenovo's chief marketing officer, said, "His partnership goes beyond
traditional bounds by deeply integrating him into our organization as a product
engineer. Ashton will help us break new ground by challenging assumptions, bring
ing new perspective and contributing his technical expertise to Yoga Tablet and
other devices." Kutcher co-founded A-Grade Investments, an investor in Airbnb, F
oursquare, Spotify, Path, Uber and other technology firms. Kutcher studied bioch
emical engineering at the University of Iowa.[127]
Kobe Bryant[edit]
Main article: Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant appeared in ads aired in China and other Asian countries for the K90
0 smartphone in 2013.[128]
Olympics[edit]
The 2008 Summer Olympics Torch, which was designed by Lenovo
Lenovo was an official computer sponsor of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, It
aly, and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. When asked about Lenovo's brand Ya
ng Yuanqing said, "The Beijing Olympics were very good for brand awareness in co
untries like the US and Argentina, but not good enough."[129]
YouTube Space Lab[edit]
Main article: YouTube Space Lab
On December 2011, Lenovo announced the YouTube Space Lab contest in conjunction
with YouTube, NASA, the European Space Agency, andJAXA, allowing students betwee
n the ages of 14 and 18 the chance to devise experiments to be performed by astr
onauts on the International Space Station. The global winners received a trip to
Japan or Russia in addition to having their experiment results live-streamed fr
om space.[130]
NFL[edit]
In July 2012, Lenovo and the National Football League (NFL) announced that Lenov
o had become the NFL's "Official Laptop, Desktop and Workstation Sponsor." Lenov
o said that this was its largest sponsorship deal ever in the United States. Len
ovo will receive advertising space in NFL venues and events and be allowed to us
e the NFL logo on its products and ads. Lenovo said that this sponsorship would
boost its efforts to market to the key 18-to-35-year-old male demographic.
The NFL has been a Lenovo customer since 2007 and the sponsorship resulted from
that relationship. NFL stars Jerry Rice, DeAngelo Williams, and Torry Holt were
on hand for the announcement and a celebration with 1,500 Lenovo employees. Leno
vo's sponsorship will last at least three years.[131]
The Pursuit[edit]
Lenovo used a short-film entitled The Pursuit in its "For Those Who Do" campaign
launched in 2011. The film depicted a mysterious young woman using the IdeaPad
Yoga 13 to stay one-step-ahead of her evil pursuers. The film was shot by Martin
Campbell, who previously worked on action movies and James Bond films such as G
oldenEye and the remake of Casino Royale. Lenovo was the first Chinese company t
o make use of such marketing techniques.[12]
Superfish controversy[edit]
Lenovo pre-installed Superfish malware on consumer laptops which introduces adve

rtisements into Google search results. According to Lenovo, Superfish " instantly
analyzes images on the web and presents identical and similar product offers tha
t may have lower prices " Privacy advocates have expressed concerns that this soft
ware is intercepting traffic that is encrypted in what is known as a "man-in-the
-middle attack" in order to display ads.[132] Superfish also enables malicious t
hird parties to intercept user's traffic.[133]Acknowledging a consumer backlash,
a Lenovo spokesperson stated that "User feedback was not positive" while furthe
r stating that it would discontinue preloading the software and would program it
s servers to disable this feature.[134]