Sharma: Quality Smartphones Will Boost Customer Experience
Executive Director, Mobile Business Group, Lenovo Technologies for Middle East and Africa, Mr. Shashank Sharma, spoke with journalists on the features and qualities of the recently launched Lenovo smartphones, as well as the new trends to watch out in sma
Lenovo is globally rated as the number one personal computer maker. What is your strategy to replicate this success with smartphones, especially in emerging markets? Yes, Lenovo is the number one PC manufacturer in the world. We currently have 20 per cent market share and we are leading in that space, a position that we are very proud of. We are also one of the leading players in the smartphone segment, especially with our acquisition of Motorola. To lead in the smartphone segment it requires innovation and efficiency, and Lenovo has a great balance of these qualities. We possess the global scale that is required to compete and win in the smartphone segment. That, combined with the global supply chain, allows me to say that Lenovo is going to be a strong contender for the top spot in the world’s smartphone market. It is important to understand the market that one operates in. At Lenovo, we are coming up with products that have designs that are appealing to Nigerian consumers,as well as smartphones which have features that are required and used by Nigerians. We are making products with functionalities that are much in demand by Nigerian consumers, including flash and long battery life. Lenovo recently introduced three sets of smartphones into the Nigerian market. What are the possible features, and what should customers expect from these newly launched devices in terms of quality? Last week we launched three sets of quality phones from Lenovo, which include Lenovo S90, S70 and S 60 The Lenovo S90 is a product that we are very proud of. It is a very slim and stylish device. The S90 is a great phone for people who love taking selfies. It has an 8-megapixel front camera that is perfect for taking selfies, and I think this is an expression that will resonate with many people. The S90 also comes with Lenovo’s standard suite of applications including SHAREit, which allows users to share files and videos with others without an internet connection. The SECUREit also allows users to keep their data safe.
The Lenovo P70 is a very lovely device for people who need to use their phone for extended periods of time. The battery of the device can last for up to three days. This is great for people who have a routine that does not allow them to charge their smartphone often. Also, in spite of the P70 smartphone having a 4,000mAh battery, it is not a heavy phone at all. It is slim and very light – much slimmer than smartphones with the same battery size. We are positive that our Nigerian consumers will really like this phone because a lot of people have this kind of requirement. Another unique feature of the P70 is that it can be used to charge other mobile phones. The S60 is a much slimmer device with an eye-catching form. It is easy to hold, light-weight and packed with features that showcase users’ fun and social sides. What about wearable technology. Do you have any products that fit this description? Lenovo has been monitoring development in the wearable technology segment very closely. We will be launching wearable bands this year. The devices will be able to track health and fitness parameters, among others. But the wearable technology segment is still evolving. There are innovations that we will see in the segment in the coming years but I believe that it is still in its nascent stage. We are yet to see the true dimensions of
wearable technology. Lenovo is entering into a market where other smartphone manufacturers have already gained large chunk of the market share. How do you intend to compete with them? In every smartphone market, you will find other organisations that are already present and own percentages of market share. This has been our experience since we started expanding outside China in the last two years. We have gone into other markets with other brands already on ground so it is something that we are ready for and we believe that we are well equipped to compete and get mindshare and market share by providing Nigerians with products with the right kind of design, features and functionalities. In terms of sales, how has Lenovo performed in Nigeria since it began operations in the country last year? Without going into numbers, I would say that our targets and objectives for Nigeria in the last one year have been met and from this quarter onwards, we are already seeing exponential growth in demand for our products. What has the experience been like for Lenovo across African markets, especially here in Nigeria? The experience has been very good. We are happy with the response that our products have received till date in Nigeria, and based on the success we have had, we have actually invested more in this market. We now have more people on ground. We have strengthened our service network even more by investing in resources. The response we have received has been very good and we believe that Nigeria is right now in a good position to embrace the Lenovo brand even more, especially with the new products that we are coming out with. Tell us about the recent acquisition of Motorola by Lenovo. How will this move impact on your smartphone business? Lenovo has always been a strong player in the global smartphone market, even before the acquisition of Motorola. With the acquisition, it has become even stronger. Motorola gives us a strong brand name, it gives us presence in major markets, it gives us a strong Information Technology (IT) portfolio and access to a huge pool of innovation engineers and researchers. For us, it is a great acquisition in every sense. With the help of Motorola, we are able to expand and have presence in markets where Lenovo products are not being sold today. In addition, our range of products for the customer, including wearables, have grown even bigger as a result of the acquisition Nigeria’s mobile phone market is quite diverse. Some people buy premium devices that cost so much, while others go for devices that are considered cheap. How will you ensure that every user group can enjoy a great smartphone experience from Lenovo? There is a breadth of customers that are looking for suitable products in the smartphone segment. You will see that the products that we are coming out with in our ‘A’ series of smartphones, cater to individuals looking for devices that are affordable. We also have our ‘S’ series and premium vibe series smartphones that come with more features and more functionalities. We have a wide range of products at different price points that cater to the majority of users. Each product comes with its own unique functionality and the ability to deliver value while exceeding customer expectation. How affordable are Lenovo brand of smartphones? We consider affordability while design new products for manufacturing, even though we do not compromise quality with pricing. Our products have high qualities and at the same time affordable.
In terms of smartphone market share, where do you see Lenovo Nigeria in the next one year?
I believe that we will have captured between 10 -15 per cent market share in the next one year. We have the right team, the right partners and the right kind of products to achieve this. What do you think are the three most important factors that a buyer should consider when investing in smartphone? The smartphone buyer will always consider a reliable brand with a global scale that can protect the customers’ interest. This comes as a first point for me, and the second factor is the consideration of the kind of service that the brand is able to provide the consumer with and the third would be the features of the device, including display and battery life.
Lenovo, as a major player in smartphone manufacturing and sales, always put these factors into consideration, when designing smartphones. What key trends do you see defining the mobile segment in 2016? The future is always difficult to predict, but I think that display technology will see some changes. We are already seeing a lot of innovation in this area and I expect that we will have more in the coming year. Also, we will see finger print security getting more acceptability. I think that we will see interesting things happening in these areas next year.
Despite the ubiquity of smartphones, most consumers do not make optimal use of their mobile devices. Reports indicate that feature’s utilization is at 30 per cent for the average consumer. What do you think can be done to help users integrate their smartphones more into their daily lives?
Since the advent of smartphones, we have had increasing access to services that we did not have previously, from social media engagement to communication. People are using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social websites to interact and communicate with one another. But there are a lot of areas where devices remain unexplored. I think it is just a matter of time before most people get exposed to what they can do with their phone and start utilizing it in more facets of their lives than they do today. Going by the large acceptance of smartphones globally, do you still see the survival of feature phones going forward? All over the world, we are seeing the migration from feature phones to smartphones where customers feel they can get more value in terms of what they want from their mobile device. That trend began in Nigeria in the last couple of years and is now accelerated. There would be a small number of feature phones around in the next two to three years in Africa, but majority of feature phone users are going to migrate to smartphones within this period.