In October 2014, Lenovo announced it was creating a new internet-based smart device and service business in China that would be operational in April 2015. Lenovo’s objective in establishing this company is to help it attack the fast growing consumer “Internet of Things” (IoT) market in China, with a focus not only on devices, but also on software and app development and close customer engagement.
Recently, the soon-to-be CEO of the company, Chen Xudong announced the company’s Chinese name. Since the company will be focused on the China market for the foreseeable future, it official name is in Chinese. The Chinese characters are “????”(Shen Qi Gong Chang). Loosely translated as “magic” or “beyond imagination” and “factory” or “foundry” the name alludes to the mission of the company to bring bold new innovations – smart phones, cloud services, unique IoT devices to market in China. Lenovo will refer to this new venture globally as “ShenQi” (pronounced “shen chi”),
Currently, Lenovo has a leading smartphone business, which sells mainly through the open market and carrier relationships. While Lenovo has and continues to strengthen these channels as part of its go-to-market strategy, it is growing and evolving an even stronger online model. At the same time, the new company will exclusively focus on direct-to-consumer sales, marketing and product development using a more purely internet-based business model.