Nokia phones - disappointing sales in Japan
“In the current global economic climate, we have concluded that the continuation of our investment in Japan-specific product variants is no longer sustainable,” Timo Ihamuotila, executive vice president at Nokia, said in a statement.
However, sales of the Vertu luxury mobile phones, a brand owned by Nokia, will continue in Japan, the Finnish company said. Its global research and development as well as sourcing operations in Japan will also continue.
“In Japan we have had a low market share, below our own targets also. We have been investing in the market for a long time, but we are still in that situation,” Thomas Joensson, communications executive vice president, told AFP.
He added the company continued to believe its exclusive Vertu brand would succeed in the Japanese niche market segment despite the global financial turmoil.
Vertu makes expensive handsets that are often embellished with titanium, gold, jewels and crystal.
In October Nokia said it estimated its global market share in July-September was 38 percent. The Finnish firm has done very well in emerging markets such as China and India, but has failed to attract technology savvy Japanese consumers. read more at Google News…
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