THE penetration of Lenovo computer products in Indonesia is growing. In the first quarter of 2011 Lenovo’s market share in Indonesia was 7.6 percent, or number five in the industry. Out of this market share Lenovo dominates the corporate segment with a market share of 15.8 percent and it is indeed the leader in this market segment beating its competitors Hewlett Packard (HP) and Dell. At the end of 2010 Lenovo was already enjoying a 15 percent market share in the corporate segment.
Meanwhile in the small and medium business (SMB) segment Lenovo has a market share of 9.8 percent and in the consumers segment it has a 5.1 percent market share; number five in the industry in Indonesia. “Our business growth is 90 percent while the industry’s growth is only 18 percent. Lenovo still dominates the business to business segment,” said Sandy Lumy, Country General Manager of Lenovo Singapore Pte. Ltd. for Indonesia’s Representative Office.
Of course Lenovo’s success is inseparable from Sandy’s role as GM of Lenovo Indonesia. Indeed Sandy is not a new face in the industry as he has a long career in the computer industry. Therefore, he did not experience any difficulty in adapting to her new role at Lenovo Indonesia. In addition she is assisted by a solid team. “I always give my full trust to my employees for the company’s growth,” said Sandy explaining her strategy in company management.
He also revealed another strategy in ensuring Lenovo remains market leader. For the corporate segment in Indonesia she has a special team for the corporate and government segment. In addition the product must be excellent, such as Lenovo’s ThinkPad for the laptop and ThinkCentre for its PC both of which are undoubtedly superior in quality and innovation.
Also important are its distribution channels, which Sandy calls partners, spread throughout the nation, such as in Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. Sandy has also enhanced the after sales service and expanded the network.
Besides educating the customers via seminars there are also customer visits to the company’s lab in Beijing, China. “We have a research and development facility in Beijing, China, Yamato, Japan and the United States,” said Sandy, an alumni of the Accounting Economics faculty of Parahyangan Catholic University, Bandung.
Sandy also improves the skills of the sales team and distribution channels. “In the business to business segment (B2B) we are striving to maintain our position and grow faster than the market itself,” said Sandy who joined Lenovo in June 2007.
Not satisfied being the dominant leader of the corporate segment Sandy also strives to enlarge the company’s market share in the SMB and consumer segments. Sandy, who plays golf and badminton, said that for these two segments the company leverages partners and makes huge investments to build Lenovo Exclusive Stores that sell Lenovo products exclusively. Currently there are already 48 stores, more than double last year’s 20 outlets.
In addition this year Lenovo is launching Power Brand (PB) in a major way globally, including in Indonesia, to increase brand awareness. Through this PB campaign Sandy expects Lenovo will be known not only as a computer company, but also as a technology company. Therefore, Lenovo has recently launched a tablet computer and smartphone. Indonesia is getting a large portion of Lenovo’s PB campaign to increase awareness here because the Chinese computer company only started here in 2005.
“The target for the Power Brand campaign is the 18 to 25 year old age bracket,” said Sandy, the former Sales Director of HP Indonesia. Integrated marketing is also implemented via ads and outdoor advertising not only in Jakarta but in 13 cities in Indonesia. TV commercials and collaboration with radio stations are also included in the campaign. Three brand ambassadors have been appointed: Lenny Agustin, a creative fashion designer famous for contemporary Indonesian cultural designs; Denny Sumargo, a basket player and an entrepreneur; Wahyu Aditya, founder of Hellomotion Academy, one of Indonesia’s best animation schools.
Sandy said that enlarging the consumer market share will have a positive impact on its current domination of the B2B segment. “This is our way to protect our market by staying the market leader in B2B and entering the consumer segment. What we do is protect and attack the market,” said Sandy, who was previously an executive at Compaq Computer Indonesia.
Sandy said all these were her strategies to enable the company to increase its domination of the market in 2011. Therefore, the company’s investment and marketing as well as promotional cum advertising budget, including its PB campaign, is huge. The number of employees has also been increased. “We have raised investment four or five fold. Our PB campaign will run until March 2012. Yes, we are very serious,” said Sandy, who has a master’s degree in management from IPMI Business School.
Since the PB campaign Lenovo’s brand consideration had increased to 55.8 percent early in 2011, while in August last year it was only 18 percent. This is due to the company’s intensive marketing and increased sales and distribution. Along with the increased brand consideration (BC) Sandy is targeting Lenovo’s market share in Indonesia to be much higher than 7.6 percent, meaning double digits.