Nokia’s recent failure in Japan should not be considered significant for the entire Asian market – insider information provided to me from Moscow has confirmed that the company enjoys immense popularity there.
In a mostly-unrelated matter, Nokia is said to open 10 new retail stores in China shortly:
The Nokia specialty store jointly managed by D. Phone and Nokia has the appearance and brand logo of a Nokia store. The store is located in the Zhongguancun commercial area, an are with the highest concentrations mobile phone chain stores in Beijing and has a total area of more than 130 square meters.A spokesperson for Nokia told local media that the phone maker plans to have 10 speciality stores in Beijing to 10 in 2009.
While branded retail stores usually have little impact on a manufacturer’s bottom line (most sales still happen at carriers); having retail stores available in a location always is good for a manufacturer’s prestige.
China is a huge market for both low-end and, to a lesser extent, high-end devices which does not have the “absurd” demands of the Japanese – going there is an excellent choice IMHO…
Image: Wikimedia Commons / CobbleCC
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The japanese and american markets will never be a good place for Nokia, it will never succeed out there. Japanese guys have Sony Ericsson and other manufactures, and the americans are totally in love for iPhone, Blackberry and Motorola. Actually, yesterday I have read that Blackberry and iPhone are selling much more smartphones than Nokia.
Hi Carlos,
the issue with the Japanese market is clear – entering that it very difficult.
As for the other markets (especially US)…I think this is more an issue of carrier partnerships than anything else…
All the best
Tam Hanna