ASUS is facing a major consumer backlash in several Western markets after the company opted to continue supplying its Russian retailers and distributors with laptops, monitors and computer hardware. Lenovo, which is the No. 1 PC brand in Russia, is also having problems.
Late last week, Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, sent a letter to Asus Chairman Jonny Shih via Twitter on Thursday asking him to stop doing business with Russia until “the Russian aggression in Ukraine be completely halted and a just order be restored”.
He had already asked Lenovo to stop supplying Russia.
ASUS management has so far failed to answer the call with insiders telling ChannelNews that the company will “lose a lot of market share” in Western markets including Europe, the US United and Australia if it does not withdraw from Russia.
Dell, Microsoft and several other PC vendors chose to stop supplying goods to Russia after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
Fedorov, called on ASUS to end relationships with its Russia-based customers and partners and stop supplying them with hardware and electronics or providing technical support, a decision most major companies accept.
Asus said last night that it “will not be responding at this time”.
Other brands which at this stage have refused to announce a ban on supplying products to Russia are Chinese brands TP Link, Lenovo, Oppo, Hisense, Haier which own Fisher & Paykel as well as Realme, Vivo smartphones.
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Ninebot also support Russia, which are a major supplier of products to retailers in Australia.
Ninebot owns the Sedgeway scooter brand.
A local Ukrainian source who is a senior executive in the IT industry has suggested that Australian retailers should stop selling ASUS and Lenovo laptops in Australia, in protest at the decision to continue supplying laptops and hardware to consumers. Russian consumers, including Russian defense and government ministries. .
A Taiwanese investment consultant believes that Russia accounts for a large share of ASUS sales.
The Russian PC market increased in the 4th quarter of 2021 by 10.7% in unit terms compared to the same period in 2020.
A total of 1.9 million desktop and laptop computers have been shipped, according to IDC.
The growth was driven by entry-level and mid-range models, which hit the market in November-December 2021.
Last quarter, Lenovo held 18.5% of the market and ASUS 15.6%.
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