A Legend Passes: Chinese Company Takes New Name
Legend Group Ltd., China's largest technology company by revenue and one of its most visible corporate citizens, is changing its English name to Lenovo Group, in a corporate makeover caused by growing pains rather than crisis.
The adoption of the new name caps a 2?-year marketing overhaul at the Beijing company. Legend's chairman, Liu Chuanzhi, previously emphasized technological prowess above all else. But now, marketing has become so important that Legend recently decided to become China's first official sponsor of the Olympic Games.
While most companies that change names are forced to do so by mergers or financial or public-relations crises, Legend's facelift began when the executives setting up its European offices in 2000 found that the word "legend" had already been trademarked for technology products in the United Kingdom and Germany.
The company's Chinese name, Lian Xiang, which translates to "imagination," isn't changing. And because the company gets 98% of its $3 billion annual revenue from China, it is taking little risk by changing its English name.
Still, analysts and investors for several years have considered the company one of China's top prospects to break out as a global brand, and the company's own executives have cited a need to expand overseas for growth. Legend's leading 27% share of China's personal-computer market has remained flat for several years, while those of several multinational rivals, notably Dell Inc., are rising quickly there.
When its first sales effort in Europe was disrupted by the trademark problem, the company put another brand name, QDI, on its products there. But Alice Li, the Legend marketing executive who led the overhaul, says, "We still had the bigger idea that we should have a name that worked everywhere."
While still students and engineers at a Beijing technical institute, the company's founders picked Legend for its English name when they started the company in 1984. More than 40 other sub-brands -- including Happy Family for a software line and 1+1 for a retail chain -- emerged over the years. In 2001, the company hired Interpublic Group's FutureBrand unit to help find a new name and come to grips with its sub-brands.
It cut the number of sub-brands and product names to 19 and created a list of attributes Legend hoped to impart to future customers. Because the company now sells many products besides PCs, Legend's old logo, which had a caricature of a floppy disk, needed an update. And because computers and cellphones are no longer new to Chinese consumers, Legend no longer needs to emphasize product education and features.
The consulting firm also presented Legend with about 250 new English names, including many that began with "L" to associate with the company's existing names. Early last year, Legend's top 20 executives picked out five finalists from a list of 25 candidates that had been vetted in many languages and trademark registries. From those five, Lenovo stood out because it could be trademarked in the most countries and was easy to pronounce and spell.
The company began putting the new name on products last spring. Then, last week, shareholders voted to use Lenovo as the corporate name. After clearing a few final legal hurdles, the name could be officially changed as soon as tomorrow.
Consumers in several European countries will be the first outside China to see Lenovo's name on a broader range of products and advertising. The company's first global splash likely will come at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
Lenovo's Olympic sponsorship in Turin and at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing will cost at least $60 million, advertising-industry executives say. Company representatives declined to discuss terms.
"Lenovo"为联想走出中国铺路
中国联想集团(LEGEND GROUP LTD.)正准备将其英文名称变更为"Lenovo Group"，之所以更名是因为公司遇到了"成长的烦恼"，而不是遭遇了危机。联想集团是中国按收入计算最大的科技公司，在中国企业界也是首屈一指的几家公司之一。
总部位于北京的联想集团的全面市场营销计划已开展了两年半时间，新的公司英文名称的采用为这一计划划上了圆满的句号。
联想的董事长柳传志先前将科技的重要性排在所有因素之前。但发展到现在，市场营销已经变得如此重要，以致于联想最近决定成为奥林匹克运动会(Olympic Games)在中国的首家全球合作伙伴。
虽然大多数公司是因合并、出现财务或公共关系危机而被迫更名，但联想从2000年在欧洲建立办事处时就开始考虑更名了。当时公司高层主管发现，在英国和德国，"legend"早已经被注册为科技产品的商标。
联想的中文名称将不改变。由于公司约30亿美元年收入中的98%来自中国，改变公司的英文名对公司构成的风险微乎其微。
但多年来，分析师和投资者一直认为公司是最有可能成为全球品牌的中国企业之一，该公司的高层主管已表示需要向海外拓展业务来寻求成长。
几年来，联想在中国个人电脑市场一直保持27%左右的市场占有率，与此同时几家跨国电脑公司的市场占有率迅速提升，尤其是戴尔电脑(Dell Inc.)。
联想在欧洲首次销售其产品的计划被商标问题打乱后，该公司以"QDI"为商标在欧洲销售其产品。但联想市场推广部门的Alice Li说："我们有一个更远大的理想，我们要有一个在任何地方都可以使用的名称。"
在联想的创办人还是北京一家科技研究所的学生和工程师的时候，他们在1984年建立联想之初，就选定"Legend"为公司的英文名称。这些年以来，公司旗下已经拥有40多个子品牌，其中包括幸福之家(Happy Family)软件产品和"1+1"连锁店业务。2001年，该公司聘请Interpublic Group旗下的FutureBrand子公司帮助公司找一个新的英文名称，并将旗下的品牌整合起来。
公司将旗下品牌数缩减至19个。由于该公司当前还销售个人电脑之外的其他很多产品，联想需要更换原先像一个软盘样子的公司标识。而且由于电脑和无线电话对于中国客户已经不再是什么新鲜物，因此联想无需将重点放在产品教育和功能上。
咨询公司FutureBrand给联想提供了约250个新的英文名称，其中很多以"L"开头，以同该公司现有的名称保持一致。去年年初，联想的20位高层主管从25个经过很多种语言检验，并经过商标注册机构审查的名字中选出了5个最终入选的名字。在这5个名字中，Lenovo脱颖而出，因为它可以在大多数国家被注册为商标，而且容易发音和拼写。
联想从去年春季开始在其产品上使用新名称。上周，股东投票同意将Lenovo作为该公司的英文名。解决了最终的几项法律问题后，这个名字最早可能于明日正式命名为公司的英文名称。
在中国之外，欧洲几个国家的客户可能最早看到大范围以Lenovo为标识的联想产品和广告。该公司首次（以Lenovo为商标的）全球大范围推广可能在意大利都灵举行的2006年冬季奥林匹克运动会(Winter Olympics)上进行。
一位广告行业人士数，联想在都灵冬季奥运会和2008年北京夏季奥运会的赞助费用将至少达到6,000万美元。公司代表拒绝透露具体的财务条款。
