Lenovo Group will bring the ThinkPad notebook to U.S. retail stores as part of an agreement with Office Depot, hoping to raise the Chinese company's profile among U.S. consumers and small business PC buyers.

After it completed its acquisition of IBM's PC business earlier this year, Lenovo focused on shoring up the large enterprise accounts that were key to the deal. But last month, Lenovo Chairman Yuanqing Yang told reporters that small and midsize businesses outside its strong position in the Asia-Pacific region would become an equal priority for the company in coming quarters.

Retail customers will now be able to evaluate and purchase ThinkPad notebooks in more than 1,000 Office Depot stores throughout the U.S., starting Sunday, the companies said Thursday.

Lenovo needs to improve the awareness of its brand among small businesses and consumers to compete against Dell and HP in the U.S., said Sam Bhavnani, senior analyst with Current Analysis in San Diego. Lenovo has been very successful in the consumer market in its home country, but hasn't attempted to replicate that success in the U.S. until now.

"Lenovo has zero brand equity. Partnering with Office Depot gives ThinkPad, and hence Lenovo, visibility," Bhavnani wrote in an e-mail interview. Consumers will now see ThinkPad notebooks alongside notebooks from HP, Gateway, Toshiba and other PC vendors, and Lenovo will reach small business customers who prefer to shop through retail channels, an area shunned by PC leader Dell's direct sales model, he said.

Office Depot will carry Lenovo's ThinkPad T series, X series and R series models, as well as accessories branded by Lenovo. The ThinkPad notebooks haven't been available in U.S. retail stores since 1999, after IBM withdrew following a poor showing, Bhavnani said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.