Feature: Lenovo leads Chinese brand penetration into Australian market

Australian shopper Bill Sprawson was looking to spend 1,500 Australian dollars (1,164 U.S. dollars) on a laptop computer and had conducted his research.

Sprawson was not a fan of Apple so he looked for other trusted brands including Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer and Toshiba.

And then he spotted Lenovo.

He had heard good things about Lenovo, but was surprised to learn that this computer maker -- the world's largest PC maker -- was Chinese.

"I've heard of Lenovo and it's a good brand, but I didn't know it was Chinese," the Sydney man said. "There were 30 percent off the market price, so that made me go for Lenovo."

Lenovo is the highest profile Chinese brand that is attracting attention outside China, and its reputation is growing as the tech giant looks to dominate foreign markets.

Lenovo chief marketing officer for Asia Pacific Mature Markets Nick Reynolds said the company launched the consumer PC and tablet business in October last year with Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi, two of Australia's largest electronic retailers.

"This means our brand and products are more visible than ever in over 400 stores," he said.

The company is planning to expand in Australia by introducing smartphones in second half of 2015 with the Motorola brand and a range of products after purchasing Motorola Mobility in 2014 from Google.

"To succeed in the Australian market any organization, Chinese or otherwise, needs to position their brand carefully with consumers," Reynolds said.

Lenovo launched its latest premium YOGA convertible PCs and tablets by leveraging a partnership with U.S. actor Ashton Kutcher in his role as a Lenovo product engineer.

"As a popular actor who is well recognized, Lenovo leveraged his star power in a worldwide marketing campaign to build its brand," Reynolds said.

"Lenovo is a company with R&D prowess and Ashton worked closely with us to deliver a ground-breaking tablet with 18 hours battery life and in-built subwoofer and projector.

"It's important to know your strengths and weaknesses and invest to build your brand in a sustainable manner."

Lenovo Australia last month hosted a technology conference in Sydney attended by Kutcher, who spoke at the event. The actor also features in a comical TV advertisement milking a goat, in a bid to attract younger Australians.

Another Australian shopper Anne Johnson, aged in her 20s, said she had seen the ads, but more importantly, read reviews about the best computers, and was considering a Lenovo.

"I looked at them online and Lenovo had good reviews. They weren't the cheapest but I wanted quality and I was impressed with what I saw," she said.

"I know Lenovo is a Chinese brand but basically all the computers are made in China anyway."

Lenovo has been selling PCs in Australia for a number of years mainly through online business-to-business channels. Its move into retail outlets is already boosting its brand name in the local 5 billion Australian dollar (3.89 billion U.S. dollars) market.

Lenovo chief executive Yang Yuanqing came to Australia last year and said the company would be expanding its Australia presence with larger offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra.

At the press conference Yang said Lenovo would have a major consumer presence in Australia.

"In the past we have had a very successful commercial business but now we will become a consumer player here as well, just like we have in other markets like in China, in U.S., Japan and Western Europe," he said.

"Since now our consumer business would cover all the markets in the world, hopefully the last one (Australia) is the best one."

Yang said Lenovo had been No.1 in global PC sales for six straight quarters.

"In consumer just five to six years ago, we had no business outside China, but now we're the top consumer PC company in the world. We aim to grow even more," he said.

"I want Australia to become a growth area for Lenovo."

Yang said Lenovo would invest more than 10 million U.S. dollars this fiscal year in Australia and New Zealand to build its consumer business.

JB Hi-Fi is one of Australia's largest electronic outlets and sales manager Kathy Russell said they had stocked Lenovo products for the past six months.

"We've only had them for six months, but we are selling a lot of them in that time," she said.

"You pay a bit more but they are big on quality."

It is this focus on quality that is raising the bar for other Chinese brands, who hope to make their mark on the world. Endi