Lenovo to launch flagship phone via six-nation 'flash sale'
Lenovo is launching a new flagship smartphone, the A7000, through the Lazada shopping website in six countries in Southeast Asia via a "flash sale" - a two-hour event during which the product will be available for just Bt5,290.
The phone will be available at that price from noon to 2pm on May 21 at Lazada. To participate in the flash sale, customers have to register in advance at Lazada’s website between now and May 19.
Somsak Athisaitrakul, Lenovo Thailand’s smartphone country lead, said Lenovo aimed for impressive growth in its smartphone business in Thailand. The company’s strategy is to utilise all types of channels including traditional dealerships, telecom companies, and online.
"Our strategy for this year is to market different models on different channels," he said.
For example, Lenovo is collaborating with True Corporation to offer the True Lenovo 4G LTE 5.0 exclusively for Bt4,590 when bundled with service packages.
Somsak said 14-15 Lenovo smartphone models would be made available in Thailand throughout this year.
"This year will see a lot more marketing activities for Lenovo smartphones both offline and online," he said.
New experience
"We cannot disclose our targets from the first flash sale. We expect to create a new experience for smartphone purchasers with an attractive price compared with its specs. We also cannot disclose how many times we will hold flash sales," he said.
Lazada is a large shopping website. It is expected that the sales volume across the region during the May 21 event will allow Lenovo to offer its flagship smartphone for only Bt5,290.
Somsak said Lenovo had no plans for an online shopping channel of its own. This year, the company is focusing on marketing activities and adding a couple more service centres to its existing complement of 11.
The Lenovo A7000 flash sale will be held in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore.
Riccardo Basile, chief executive officer of Lazada Thailand, said that with 900,000 unique visitors per day, the website could make the flash sale a success.
"During our third anniversary [celebration] in the region, we got 4 million visitors and had 160,000 products sold in three days. The Lenovo A7000 flash sale will be our first for a smartphone in Thailand," Basile said.
