Lenovo — Back in the Hunt?

After years of struggling following its misguided purchase of IBM’s PC business, Lenovo (HKEx: 992) seems to be finally back in the global PC hunt, at least based on its latest results (). But is the company that still dominates its home China market really ready for the big leagues just yet? The numbers seem to say yes: in its latest results, it boosted its already dominant market share at home, made huge gains in emerging markets and did all that while keeping margins respectable. But I’m still not convinced this company is ready for prime time. Its NEC joint venture shows signs of its wannabe status, and bears eerie resemblance to its foolish IBM purchase. Its mobile venture seems to lack focus, and bears more of a me-too mark as well, much like its netbook strategy of a few years back. In short, this company still lacks focus in my view, relies way too much on its home China market, and is too much of a me-too company in its product development strategy. Let’s see how the numbers grow, but my guess is that the boom times won’t last too much longer.