IBM looks to keep customers after PC division sale
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After agreeing to sell its PC division to China's Lenovo Group, IBM now faces the task of keeping its corporate and government customers from abandoning its standard-setting brand.
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IBM said late Tuesday that it will sell its personal computer division to a Chinese rival, a move it said should have no immediate effect on its Triangle work force.
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Buoyed by surging sales of its mainframe computers in recent quarters, IBM is aiming to broaden the use of the powerful machines, particularly in China, the world&#39;s fastest-growing large economy.
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IBM is discussing selling its PC business to Lenovo Group Ltd., China's largest maker of personal computers, and at least one other potential buyer, according to The New York Times.
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IBM Corp. has put its PC business up for sale, according to a story published on Friday on the Web site of The New York Times.
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International Business Machines, better known as (IBM), will cease producing their personal computer (PC) production activities. According to the news of New York Times, the strongest candidate to buy the
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NEW YORK, New York, United States of America -- International Business Machines (IBM) Corp has put its computer business up for sale, the New York Times said Friday, quoting people close to negotiations.
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(InfoWorld) - Just two weeks after expanding its relationship with Best Buy, Lenovo GroupÂ said Wednesday it will try to win even more U.S. small business customers by selling its notebook PCs at Circuit City's retail shops. In both deals, customers will be able to buy Lenovo's ThinkPad T60 widescreen and Lenovo N100 notebook PCs. Circuit City will also sell extra variations of those models in its stores, and the C200 notebook over its Web site and the phone. The move makes Lenovo notebooks available to shoppers at Circuit City's 700 U.S. stores and Best Buy's 300 "Best Buy for Business" stores. The deal could reach even more consumers in 2008, when Best Buy plans to build 95 new stores in the U.S. Lenovo made the move because it sees a trend of more small business users purchasing their PCs at retail outlets instead of channels or online, according to a statement from Steve Mungall, Lenovo's vice president for worldwide and Americas channels. If it succeeds, the plan could help Lenovo return to profit after several weak quarters. The company relies strongly on revenue from China and Europe, while sales in the Americas have declined with a slump in enterprise demand. The company was also shaken earlier this month byÂ the sale of 300 million Lenovo shares by IBM, its second-biggest shareholder and the original owner of Lenovo's ThinkPad PC line. However, while Lenovo is making a wise move in using retail stores to reach small business buyers, it will face new challenges, one analyst said. Because retail stores attract a full spectrum of buyers, Lenovo must improve its marketing and product features to succeed. "Retail is a blunt sword to capture those customers as opposed to the sharp edge they are normally used to. Being in stores like Best Buy, Circuit City, and Office Depot means they need to be priced competitively against the more consumer-focused offerings on the shelf," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for the NPD Group. To succeed with this strategy, Lenovo will have to sell PCs designed for both consumers and small businesses instead of the business-focused notebooks they have now. "Bottom line is they are entering a very tough segment with products that are trying to focus narrowly in a wide atmosphere. I suspect that they will be severely challenged to profitably expand their business to the customers they are interested in with this channel strategy," Baker said. In the meantime, Lenovo is sticking with its business focus. The company advertises the T60, with a weight of 5.1 pounds (2.3 kilograms),Â as the lightest 15.4-inch widescreen notebook available from the top five vendors. And Lenovo pitches the N100 to small business customers who want improved Wi-Fi for greater range and faster speeds in wireless connectivity. For Circuit City sales, both models come preloaded with Microsoft's Windows Vista Home Basic or Premium OS, while the online version of the T60 uses Vista Business. Â
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IBM (IBM) said Tuesday that it would sell its PC business to Lenovo, China&#39;s No. 1 PC maker, in a $1.75 billion deal that marks the end of an era.
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IBM (IBM:NYSE - news - research) is reportedly ready to exit the PC business, having long lost its dominance in the arena. The report said Lenovo Group, China&#39;s top PC company, is among the interested bidders.
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(InfoWorld) - IBM sold off a chunk of its stake in Lenovo Group, leading the world's third-largest PC vendor to temporarily suspend trading of its shares in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Lenovo spokeswoman Angela Lee said IBM had informed the company it planned to sell a large block of shares but had not provided specific details of the transaction. IBM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "The trading of Lenovo's shares has been suspended at our request, pending the release of an announcement ... relating to the placing of Lenovo's shares by IBM," Lee said. At 2:40pm local time Tuesday afternoon, trading of the company's shares remained suspended. IBM did not respond to a request for comment. Lenovo's shares were trading at HK$3.20 (US$0.41) per share when they were suspended, a drop of 7 percent from the previous day's close. That price matches the reported selling price IBM received for its shares, which were offered to investors at a discount, according to several press reports Tuesday. Citing information offered to investors, those reports said IBM sold 300 million shares in Lenovo Group in a sale worth HK$960 million (US$123 million). IBM, whichÂ sold its PC division to LenovoÂ in 2005, has gradually reduced its stake in Lenovo since that deal. A further sale of shares would be in keeping with the company's stated plan to sell down its stake in Lenovo. Prior to the reported sale, IBM held a 13.2 percent stake in Lenovo, making it the company's second-largest shareholder. The sale of shares -- estimated at 3.5 percent of Lenovo's total shares -- will reduce IBM's holdings to 9.7 percent of the company. While IBM reduces its stake in Lenovo, the two companies remain close partners. Lenovo Tuesday announced the signing of a five-year agreement forÂ IBM to provide technical support, installation, deployment and other PC-related services to its customers. The deal could be worth up to US$245 million to IBM, Lenovo said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Â
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The immediate future of the computer industry -- and its biggest players -- took center stage Tuesday after IBM announced it is selling its PC business to a Chinese technology giant.
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Lenovo will pay $1.75 billion for IBM&#39;s PC business unit but will continue to use the IBM brand for five years. By Paul McDougall, and Darrell Dunn.
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, 12/8/2004. IBM&#39;s awaited personal computing division sale to Lenovo Group Ltd. became official this morning with an announcement that Big Blue will pass the unit to China&#39;s number one PC maker for $1.75 billion.
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IBM Corp. is restructuring its hardware division around customer types rather than individual products, marking the biggest such realignment in the unit in 15 years.
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Word that IBM is mulling a move to sell its desktop and notebook PC business to China-based Lenovo Group had executives at most of Big Blue&#39;s vendor competitors scurrying to stay out of the limelight until more details of the deal--and final word on
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IBM's deal to sell its personal computer business to China's Lenovo, a move likely to reshape the industry, signals the PC has evolved into a mass consumer item with little profit, analysts say.