HP Looking For China Formula 惠普寻找中国方程式的答案

By newsdoug on June 21, 2011

HP's new China approach Just a week after announcing a major shake-up in its top ranks, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) has announced a new head for its China operations in a bid to breathe new life into a market where it has stumbled badly in the last year. (English article; Chinese article) Company veteran Steve Gill’s arrival as new China president comes less than a year after former Motorola executive Rueybin Kao took the company’s top China post. HP said that Kao left in April for “personal reasons” that seems suspiciously more professional than personal. The China shake-up comes just a week after a bigger top-level shuffle at HP (English article), at which time the company said it would refocus its efforts on the important China and India markets. At least on paper, Gill’s background looks impressive and underscores HP’s realization that it needs to step up its game in China, the world’s second largest PC market where it has stumbled badly over the past year. Gill has led HP’s enterprise business in Korea for the last two years; but more interestingly he was previously the head of UK and Ireland operations, where he is credited with building HP into one of Britain’s largest IT companies. HP and US rival Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) have both turned in disappointing performances in China lately, losing momentum to homegrown giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992) and Taiwan’s Acer (Taipei: 2353) in this emerging market where price plays a much bigger role than it does in more mature markets like the United States. Only time will tell if Gill can bring new momentum to HP in China before it slides further still. His experience in emerging markets is a big question mark, but his outsider status could also be just what the company needs to bring a fresh approach to its China operations.

Bottom line: HP’s naming of a new China chief could auger some new and interesting initiatives aimed at helping to stabilize its eroding position in the world’s second biggest PC market.

惠普<HPQ.N>在一周前刚对高层进行了重大人事调整，近期又宣布任命史蒂夫•吉尔（Steve Gill）担任中国区总裁，力求给惠普在中国市场带来新的生机，去年惠普在中国市场表现糟糕。公司老将吉尔担任惠普中国总裁前，摩托罗拉前高管高瑞彬在这一职位工作了仅不到一年。惠普称，高瑞彬4月离职是出於“个人原因”，但估计公司原因多於个人原因。一周前，惠普高层出现重大人事变动，公司当时表示，将重新关注中国和印度市场。至少从履历上来看，吉尔的背景令人印象深刻，这也表明，惠普意识到需要在中国市场加快步伐。吉尔过去两年负责惠普在韩国的企业业务；但更有意思的是，他曾任惠普英国和爱尔兰区总裁，并推动惠普成为英国最大的IT公司之一。惠普和戴尔<DELL.O>近期在中国的业绩均令人失望，表现不及联想<0992.HK>和台湾宏基<2353.TW>，中国市场与美国等更成熟的市场相比，价格因素的作用更大。吉尔是否能在惠普进一步下滑前，提振其在中国的业绩，只有时间才能证明一切。他在新兴市场的经验是一大问题，但惠普可能正好需要其“局外者形象”，为惠普在中国的运行注入新鲜血液。

一句话：惠普任命中国区新总裁，或能带来一些有意思的新举措，帮助惠普在中国市场稳定其渐遭蚕食的市场份额。

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