You must have heard by now that Google has sold Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $3 billion. The Beijing-based company will certainly be able to capitalize upon Motorola’s brand recognition and distribution network in Western markets. Lenovo is already a successful smartphone manufacturer on its home turf. Supply chain sources suggest that Lenovo might actually adopt a dual-brand marketing strategy for smartphones.
What this means is that the company would continue to use the Motorola brand to sell mid-range and high-end smartphones in the U.S. as well as Western Europe, and that it would use the Lenovo brand to sell entry-level to mid-range smartphones in China, Latin America and a host of other emerging markets. According to sources the company jointly expects to ship as many as 80 million units this year.
Lenovo hasn’t officially commented on branding just yet. Brand names like “Motorola By Lenovo” are being considered but the company hasn’t made anything official as yet. It might not until the acquisition deal closes, which is expected to take a couple of months.
It would make sense for Lenovo to stick with the Motorola branding, given its recognition in the West. It used to be one of the biggest handset vendors in the past so there’s certainly some glory attached to that brand. However we can’t really be sure until Lenovo confirms it.
