The world's largest PC maker is not Apple. Lenovo has retained its brands and preserved its development and production facilities while integrating procurement capabilities and scale through a series of acquisitions. NEC Lenovo ranked first in the Japanese market in the first half of fiscal 2025, with a 29.3% share. This article examines how Lenovo's acquisitions have built on one another over time.
Lenovo has retained brands including ThinkPad after acquisitions and kept its domestic development center in Japan operating as the Yamato Research Institute. Following its integration with NEC, the LAVIE development and domestic production structure was also maintained, with only procurement and scale integrated. Domestic ThinkPad production in Yonezawa was carried forward, preserving the link between the brand and its technology. As a result, customers have not left with each acquisition, and the market presence of each brand has accumulated as part of the group's overall strength.\n\nWhat distinguishes this structure is that it protects the brands, development centers and domestic production while integrating only procurement capabilities and scale. As a result, the core elements, including the continuation of ThinkPad's Japanese design and production, have been preserved, creating conditions in which market share is less likely to decline after an acquisition. In 2025, Lenovo Group became the leader in the Japanese market, and some observers say that the combined domestic market share of its businesses is likely to remain high.