Lenovo leads Chinese brand penetration into Australian market

"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 A$5 billion Australian dollar ($3.89 billion) 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 US, 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 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.