Lenovo, the world's largest PC maker, has confirmed that it is struggling to keep up with the massive demand for new devices. During an earnings call with investors, COO Gianfranco Lanci revealed that Lenovo was operating at less than half of usual stock levels, and potentially as low as a third, due to demand driven by the pandemic. and housing orders. Although vaccines provide light at the end of the tunnel, demand also remained high in early 2021. “I would say we haven't seen a drop in demand,” Lanci said. "When I look around the world, from the US to Europe to China to the APAC region, I think our channel inventory has never been lower." Traditionally, Lenovo should have about six weeks of stock on hand, but according to Lanci, “In some cases last quarter we were down to two or three weeks, so we were at very, very low levels. "
Global demand for PC
According to data from analyst firm Canalys, PC shipments reached 143,7 million units in the fourth quarter of 2020 (including tablets), marking a third consecutive quarter of growth. For the full year, 458,2 million units were shipped, the highest volume since 2015. Lenovo itself has the largest market share (20%) and was responsible for 87 million units shipped in 2020, representing a annual growth of 19%. Apple (18%), HP (13%), Dell (11%) and Samsung (8%) round out the top five. Without supply constraints, Lanci said Lenovo could have shipped an even larger number of devices in 2020. The company also expects shipments to rise another 5-10% this year (as long as supply can match demand), due to higher device wear due to intensive use. “more time on your PC and tablet, so this will likely speed up replacement cycles in the future,” said Yang Yuanqing, CEO of Lenovo. Via the record