In Partial Fulfillment of Award of Master Degree

In Business Administration

DISSERTATION ON

Nokia’s Marketing Strategy in India

SUBMITTED BY

Purva

Enrolment No: A31001910054

MBA ’12 batch

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No portion of the work referred to in the dissertation has been submitted

in support of an application of another degree or qualification of this or

any other university or other institution of learning.

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Acknowledgement

Writing a dissertation is always the most challenging part of a student’s life. It was

definitely the most important academic contribution by me. This however would

not have been possible without the encouragement and of a few people. Here I take

this opportunity to display my gratitude towards them,

First and foremost, I would like to thank my professor, Mr. Srikant Kapoor for

being a source of support and encouragement, guidance and persistent help. Dear

Sir, thank you for your time, support and patience. My Sincere thanks to both

academic and non-academic staff of the Amity Global Business School, for all

their assistance.

I would like to thank my parents for love and support bestowed on me. Thank you

for your blessings. Also I would like to thank my friends for staying by me during

the difficult parts of life. Thanks for help and love irrespective of the situations.

Last but not the least; I would like to thank God for all.

Thank You!!

Purva

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Preface

In this era, where the technology is growing in a very faster speed and every positive

change is bringing new and enhanced features with them, the cellular phones are at the very hot

issue in this growing technology.

The technologies in these cellular/mobile phones are enhancing and developing day by

day, including new features of entertainment, and multiple options like imaging facilities,

movie/animation features, sound technologies etc.

When the technology is the matter, every consumer/user prefers the latest, best and

interacting featured technologies and also prefers these facilities in less cost. So, in this view,

there is a very big and fast competition between many companies manufacturing of cellular

phones at the world level.

Nokia is a glorified Finnish multinational communication corporation. It has seen a rising

curve in business, but in the recent past its market share value has shown a drop down curve.

This paper discusses the various causes that led to the downfall of its market share values; it then

highlights what led the company give way to its competitors. The focus of the paper is then to

describe the strategy Nokia follows and how it’s different from its competitors, which in turn had

an impact on the consumers. To raise the current downtrends, Nokia finds specific solutions and

innovative approaches to regain the market share. The paper concludes with the possible

suggestions and call for action that would help boosts the company’s share up.

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Index

Introduction to the Organization.................................................................................................................5

Nokia and the Indian Market.....................................................................................................................10

Vision & Mission Statement.......................................................................................................................12

Nokia Company’s LOGO...........................................................................................................................13

Nokia Leadership Team.............................................................................................................................15

Marketing principles.................................................................................................................................16

Nokia & Sustainability..............................................................................................................................17

Marketing Mix of Nokia.............................................................................................................................21

Nokia Brand Personality...........................................................................................................................31

Nokia Positioning......................................................................................................................................33

Nokia Product Design...............................................................................................................................33

Nokia highlighted landmark achievements for its key service areas:........................................................34

SWOT Analysis..........................................................................................................................................36

PEST Analysis...........................................................................................................................................40

Segmenting the Market Using Multiple Variables.....................................................................................42

Nokia Competitors.....................................................................................................................................43

Nokia Market Share In India Falling (Losing Out To Local Players).......................................................48

First Quarter 2012 Operating Highlights..................................................................................................68

Marketing Strategy of Nokia......................................................................................................................74

Conclusion and Recommendation.............................................................................................................85

Nokia Stores in Chennai............................................................................................................................86

References & Bibliography.......................................................................................................................89

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Introduction to the Organization

History

Nokia's history starts in 1865, when engineer Fredrik Idestam established a wood-pulp mill

in southern Finland and started manufacturing paper. Due to the European industrialization and

the growing consumption of paper and cardboard Nokia soon became successful. In 1895 Fredrik

Idestam handed over the reins of the company to his son-in-law Gustaf

Fogelholm. 

Nokia's products were exported first to Russia and then to the UK and France. The Nokia factory

attracted a large workforce and a small community grew up around it. A community called

Nokia still exists on the riverbank of Emäkoski in southern Finland. 

The Nokia Community attracts other Companies

The hydroelectricity (from the river Emäkoski) which the wood-pulp mill used also

attracted the Finnish Rubber Works to establish a factory in Nokia. In the 1920s, the

Rubber Works started to use Nokia as their brand name. In addition

to footwear (galoshes) and tyres, the company later went on to manufacture rubber

bands, industrial parts and raincoats. 

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Expanding into Electronics

After World War II the Finnish Rubber Works bought the majority of the Finnish Cable Works

shares. The Finnish Cable Works was a company that had grown quickly due to the increasing

need for power transmission and telegraph and telephone networks. Gradually the ownership of

the Rubber Works and the Cable Works companies consolidated. In 1967 the companies were

merged to form the Nokia group.

The Finnish Cable Works had manufactured cables for telegraph and telephone networks and in

the 1960 they established the Cable Works ´Electronics department. At this time the seeds of

Nokia's global success in telecommunications were planted. In 1967, when the Nokia Group was

formed, Electronics generated three percent of the Group's net sales and provided work for 460

people. 

The Journey into Telecommunications

Nokia´s Cable Work's Electronics department started to conduct research into semiconductor

technology in the 1960´s. This was the beginning of Nokia’s journey into telecommunications. 

In the early 1970s, the majority of telephone exchanges were electro-mechanical analog

switches. Nokia began developing the digital switch (Nokia DX 200) which became a success.

Nokia DX 200, which was equipped with high-level computer language and Intel

microprocessors gradually evolved into the multifaceted platform that is still the basis for

Nokia's network infrastructure today. 

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At the same time, new legislation allowed the Finnish telecommunications authorities to set up a

mobile network for car phones that was connected to the public network. 

The result was Nordic Mobile Telephony (NMT). Opening in 1981, NMT was the world's first

multinational cellular network. During the following decade, NMT was introduced in many other

countries and launched the rapid expansion of the mobile phone industry. 

At the end of the 1980s a common standard for digital mobile telephony was developed. This

standard is known as GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). In 1991 Nokia made

agreements to supply GSM networks to nine European countries and by August 1997 Nokia had

supplied GSM systems to 59 operators in 31 countries. 

Nokia's first GSM handset 1992

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In 1992, while other cell phones were still analog devices, Nokia launched the world's first

mobile phone that uses digital GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) network

technology with the Nokia 1011 - a GSM phone, which uses a removable SIM (Subscriber

Identity Module) card to connect to the cell phone carrier's voice or data network. With the use

of SIM cards, Nokia 1011 phones can securely store the service-subscriber key (IMSI) used to

identify a GSM subscriber, thereby allowing users to change phones by simply removing the

SIM card from one mobile phone and inserting it into another mobile phone.

[Picture: Print advertisement for the Nokia 1011]

New Products

During the 1980s, Nokia's operations rapidly expanded to new business sectors and products.

The strategy was to expand rapidly on all fronts. In 1988, Nokia was a large television

manufacturer and the largest information technology company in the Nordic Countries. 

Focusing on Telecommunications:

While there was a deep recession in Finland at the beginning of the 1990s, the

telecommunications and mobile phones divisions were the supporting pillars of the Nokia.

Despite the depth of the recession, Nokia came to its feet quickly as the company started

streamlining its businesses. In May 1992 Nokia made the strategic decision to divest its non-core

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operations and focus on telecommunications. The company's 2100 series phone was an

incredible success. In 1994, the goal was to sell 500,000 units. Nokia sold 20 million. 

Today, Nokia is a world leader in digital technologies, including mobile phones.

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2011 market share %

2010 market share %

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

NokiaSamsung AppleZTE LG electronics

Nokia was still the leader in mobile phone sales (not to be confused with smartphone sales)

however it has gone down by 5% since the year 2010. Samsung was next in line with just an

increase of 2% in the last quarter. Apple, who is in third position seems to be doing well as it saw

an increase in the market share of about 4-5%.

Nokia and the Indian Market Nokia’s Entry in India: Nokia entered India in 1995.

Third Largest Telecommunication Market: India ranks third globally after China and U.S.

in terms of the largest telecommunication market.

500 million mobile subscribers in India: The Indian market is adding about 10 million

users a month. Nokia sees the Indian market as a growth opportunity particularly in the

country’s rural areas. Rural penetration in India is still very low at 13%. By 2010, Nokia

estimates that there will be around 500 million mobile phone users in India as compared to

427 million. According to Standard Chartered Bank’s annual forecast, India will have signed

up its 500 millionth mobile subscriber sometime in December 2009 or January 2010. So, it

took India 12 years (from 1997 when the mobile revolution began) to grow from zero to 500

million subscribers. However, analysts estimate it will take only five years to add the next

500 million.

Nokia’s market share in India: Nokia has more than half the share of India’s mobile

handset market. In 2009, an IDC report indicated that there were about 28 new handset

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vendors in India. Nokia led with a 54.1% market share in the fragmented Indian market,

while the new vendors accounted for 17.5%. Samsung and LG followed with markets shares

of 7.7 percent and 5.4 percent respectively.

Update (Mar, 2012) – Nokia had a market share of approx. 38% in 2011 compared to 49.3

per cent in 2010 in India. Its revenues were Rs 12,929 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 12,900 in the

2009-10. The Indian market accounts for 12 per cent of worldwide sales for Nokia.

Nokia’s manufacturing facilities in India: Nokia’s manufacturing facility in Chennai,

Tamil Nadu (South India) exports half its production to more than 59 countries. Nokia has

invested $250 million since its launch in 2006.

Mobile Microfinance – In 2009, Nokia piloted a scheme in two Indian states where it sold

handsets on a weekly installment of 100 rupees ($2) over 25 weeks. Nokia planned to rollout

the microfinance offer in 12 Indian states.

India not a low-end market segment – 81 percent of the India’s mobile users are in urban

areas. Nokia anticipates such customers would drive demand for high-end phones.

Increasing Competition from new mobile handset manufacturers’ entry into India: In

one quarter of 2009 alone, twenty-seven new mobile handset manufacturers entered the

Indian market to introduce entry-level models (and other models with features such as dual

SIM cards and full QWERTY keyboard) for the price sensitive Indian consumer.

Mobile handset sales in India: By year ended June 30, 2009, mobile handset sales in India

was 100.9 million compared to 94.6 million, a year ago.

Nokia’s strong distribution in India: In India, Nokia has 2 lakh retail outlets and 700

support centers across 400 cities and towns.

Nokia’s competitors in India: Samsung, Apple, Blackberry, Sony Ericsson.

Nokia’s ‘Made for India’ phones: In 2000, Nokia introduced the Nokia 3210 with a Hindi

menu. In 2003, Nokia launched the Nokia 1100, a first Made for India phone.

India’s Most Trusted Brand: Nokia ranked as India’s topmost trusted brand in the The

Economic Times-Brand Equity’s annual ‘Most Trusted Brands’ survey for 2010. In 2004,

Nokia ranked 71 and moved to 44 in 2006 as India’s most trusted brand. In 2007, it ranked in

the top ten at number 4. Nokia has since held the number one slot for three years

consecutively.

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Nokia’s biggest advertising/marketing campaign in India: In December 2011, Nokia

launched its biggest ever campaign in India called the ‘The Amazing Everyday’. The idea

behind Nokia’s global campaign is to engage customers with the idea that “hidden away in

the everyday landscape are billions of little adventures”.

Some Firsts for Nokia in India:

1995 – First mobile phone call made in India on a Nokia phone on a Nokia network

1998 - Saare Jahaan Se Acchha, first Indian ringtone in a Nokia 5110

2000 - First phone with Hindi menu (Nokia 3210)

2002 - First Camera phone (Nokia 7650)

2003 - First Made for India phone, Nokia 1100

2004 - Saral Mobile Sandesh, Hindi SMS on a wide range of Nokia phones

2004 - First Wi-Fi Phone- Nokia Communicator (N9500)

2005 – Local UI in additional local language

2006 – Nokia manufacturing plant in Chennai

2007 – First vernacular news portal.

Vision & Mission Statement

Nokia’s mission is simple: Connecting People.

Our goal is to build great mobile products that enable billions of people worldwide to enjoy more of what

life has to offer.

Our challenge is to achieve this in an increasingly dynamic and competitive environment.

Philosophy “Ideas, Energy, Excitement, Opportunities are many in today's mobile world, it feels

like anything is possible - and that's what inspires us to get out of bed every day.”

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Nokia Company’s LOGO

The first logo of Nokia Company What is the story about the fish?

Salmon in the river near the Nokia factory?

The history of Nokia goes back to 1865. That was when Fredrik Idestam built a wood pulp mill

on the banks of the Tammerkoski rapids, in southern Finland. A few years later, he built a second

mill by the Nokianvirta river- the place that gave Nokia its name.

The Nokia "arrows" logo before the Connecting People logo.

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The Nokia "Connecting People" slogan was invented by Ove

Strandberg.

Nokia Corporation has been in the telecommunications business since the 1960s and has become

a global leader of the industry. The Nokia logo, like the company, is synonymous with mobile

technology, high-tech gadgets and new ways to communicate and explore.

So when it came to designing their logo, Nokia Co. made every effort to make its logo represent

the company’s mission. And thus, the infamous ‘Nokia Connecting People’ logo came into

being.

Features of the Nokia Logo:

Let’s look at the features of the Nokia logo that make the brand so attractive.

What’s in a Slogan?

The Nokia logo consists of a very burly slogan that gives the brand a truly

strong position in the telecommunication industry. The slogan cleverly

expresses the company’s mission, which is to connect people without barrier and distance. This

has made the Nokia logo stand out from the rest.

Picture Perfect!

There is a perfect image of two people almost joining hands with each other

on the Nokia logo. The image has given a proper support to the logo and has

brilliantly complimented the company’s mission and the slogan.

A Powerful Brand.

Undoubtedly, Nokia is a powerful player in the mobile telecommunication industry. Its mobile

phones and gadgets have been infiltrated globally in mobile markets and are the customers’

favorite. Apart from being celebrated for its mobile phones, Nokia Co. also offers its customer

other corporate functions which include multimedia devices and applications, enterprise

solutions and network services. This further makes the Nokia logo a common household icon.

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Nokia Leadership TeamAccording to Nokia’s Articles of Association, the Nokia Leadership Team is responsible for the

operative management of Nokia. The Chairman and members of the Nokia Leadership Team are

appointed by the Board of Directors. Only the Chairman of the Nokia Leadership Team, the

Chief Executive Officer, can be a member of both the Board of Directors and the Nokia

Leadership Team.

Few Current Members of Nokia Leadership Team 2012 Are:

Stephen Elop- President and CEO of Nokia Corporation. Member of the Board of Directors of

Nokia Corporation. Nokia Leadership Team member and Chairman since 2010. Joined Nokia

2010.

Esko Aho- Executive Vice President, Corporate Relations and Responsibility. Nokia Leadership

Team member since 2009. Joined Nokia in 2008.

Marko Ahtisaari- Executive Vice President, Design. Nokia Leadership Team member since

February 1st, 2012. With Nokia 2002-2006, rejoined 2009.

Niklas Savander- Executive Vice President, Markets. Nokia Leadership Team member since

2006. Joined Nokia 1997.

Compensation of the Board Of Directors & the Nokia Leadership Team

The following table sets forth the annual remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors

for service on the Board and its committees, as resolved at the respective Annual General

Meetings in 2011, 2010 and 2009. 1 EUR = 1.316 US $ (2012)

Main currencies rates at the end of 2011

1 EUR =

USD (United States Dollar) 1.3059

GBP (Great Britain Pound) 0.8391

CNY (Chinese Yuau Renminbi) 8.2723

INR (Indian Rupee) 69.0430

RUB (Russian Ruble) 41.7680

JPY (Japan Yen) 101.70

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Position , EUR 2011 2010 2009

Chairman 440000 440000 440000

Vice Chairman 150000 150000 150000

Member 130000 130000 130000

Chairman of Audit

Committee

25000 25000 25000

Member of Audit

Committee

10000 10000 10000

Chairman of

Personnel Committee

25000 25000 25000

The changes in the aggregate amount of Board pay from year to year are due to changes

in the number of Board members and changes in committee composition. The amount of

fees paid to the Board and Committee members for the services rendered remained the

same. The President and CEO Stephen Elop did not receive remuneration for his service

as a member of the Board in 2011.

The aggregate amount of Board pay also includes the remuneration paid to the former

President and CEO in his capacity as a member of the Board of Directors, but in that

capacity only.

Marketing principles

There are many priorities within a business, but in a marketing orientated company like Nokia,

many of the following principles will be high on the agenda:

1. Customer satisfaction: Market research must be used to find out whether customers'

expectations are being met by current products or services.

2. Customer perception: this is based on the images consumers have of the organization and its

products, this can be based on; value for money, product quality, fashion and product reliability.

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3. Customer needs and expectations: This is anticipating future trends and forecasting for

future sales. This is vital to any organization if they wish to keep their entire current market share

and develop more.

4. Generating income or profit: This principle clearly states that the need of the organization is

to be profitable enough to generate income for growth and to satisfy stakeholders in the business.

Although satisfying the customer is a big part of a company plans they also need to take into

account their own needs.

5. Making satisfactory progress: Organizations need to make sure that their product is

developing along with the market, if a product is developing well, then income should increase,

if not then the marketing strategy should be revised.

6. Be aware of the environment: An organization should always know what is happening

within their designated market, if it is changing, saturation, technological advances, slowing

down or rapidly growing, being up to date on this is essential for companies to survive.

Nokia & Sustainability

At Nokia, responsible environmental and social practices are integrated into everything we do.

From the devices we build and the suppliers we choose, to our mobile solutions that enhance

people’s education, livelihoods and health.

Social investments

Around the world, billions of people live in remote or under-resourced communities without access to adequate education, healthcare or even up-to-date news – let alone banking or financial services. Nokia believes that affordable mobile technology has the potential to transform the delivery of these services, improve their quality and make them available to many more people. And that can promote social and economic change on a huge scale.

Education

At Nokia we believe everyone deserves access to quality education. Yet millions of people around the world are excluded from learning opportunities for a variety of reasons – from their geographical location to their gender or their financial circumstances. Nokia believes mobile technology has the power to change this situation.

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A global challenge

Around the world, 759 million adults – some 16 percent of the global population aged 15 and

over – lack the basic reading, writing and numeracy skills needed in everyday life. Of these, two

thirds are women mostly living in remote rural areas. Added to this, we face a global shortage of

10.3 million teachers. Clearly, action needs to be taken to address this critical issue, and mobile

products and applications can play a key role.

How Nokia can help The beauty of mobile technology is that it frees knowledge, information

and education from the constraints of classrooms, libraries, and expensive urban areas. What’s

more, it adds new dimensions to learning, making it a more engaging, interactive experience.

By developing mobile educational products such as Nokia Education Delivery, Nokia Life Tools

and Nokia mobile mathematics, Nokia is enabling millions of people to access a world that was

previously closed to them. Our education approach is aligned to UNESCO’s Education for All

goals, and we aim to use our products, services and technology to support those objectives.

Nokia Education Delivery Nokia Education Delivery uses mobile technology to deliver quality

education materials to remote, hard-to-reach areas. Using a mobile phone, teachers and trainers

can access and download videos and other educational resources from a constantly updated

catalogue. Already operating in hundreds of schools and having reached millions of students in

the Philippines, Tanzania, Chile and Colombia, Nokia Education Delivery has been shown to

improve study results and increase retention among students, especially girls.

Nokia Mobile Mathematics In 2008, Nokia launched a pilot scheme for mobile mathematics in

South Africa. Using a popular social networking channel to get kids interested, the service

delivers interactive study packages to students' mobile phones.

Today, the service content includes theory, exercises, tutoring, peer-to-peer support, as well as

competitions, tests and self-assessment. The scheme has led to highly motivated grade 10 pupils

chatting with friends and doing maths on their mobiles, even out of school – in the evenings,

weekends and holidays – testing themselves to continually improve their scores and competing

with their friends. The results have been so impressive; we’re now piloting the scheme in Finnish

secondary schools.

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Nokia’s Group Key Sustainability Data of Employees/ Personnel

Employees 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006

Total no. of

employees at year

132,427 123,553 125,829 112,262 68,483

End total payroll &

benefits, EUR

5,808 5,658 5,615 4,664 3,457

Million pension

expenses net, EUR

431 427 478 420 310

Nokia Helping Consumer to Save Energy

0.40

0.35

0.30

0.25

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

04 05 06 07 08 09 10

They had reached and exceeded their target of reducing no-load power used by their

chargers by 50 percent from 2006 to 2010. The target was already reached during second

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half of 2009 and during 2010 the no-load power consumption was further decreased and

finally exceeding the target with 18%.

Nokia recycle

INDIA, Recycling programs in India continued to grow this year. Since 2008, they’ve been

building their program by setting up the infrastructure for collection and reverse logistics,

training retail personnel, collaborating with a responsible recycling vendor, and engaging

consumers. 498,000 pieces (16 tonnes) of phones and accessories collected. Over 36,000

trees planted in cooperation with three NGOs. Take-back campaigning reached 145

million consumers and engaged 250,000 mobile phone users.

We continued our corporate engagement program and digital community hub, “planet ke

Rakhwaale” (Saviors of the planet). We also expanded the program to smaller cities and

towns and started a school engagement program to distribute educational comic books on

e-waste management.

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Marketing Mix of NokiaMarketing strategy of a company in a new country plays a vital role in determining its future in

that country. Knowing that Indian market is very different from other markets it was already

operating in, Nokia came up with an India–specific strategy or a think global act local strategy. It

adapted to Indian conditions by launching new products and enhancing the products with

features designed specifically for local customers, as well as promotional campaigns targeted at

Indian audience to gain a foothold in the market. To capture the widespread Indian market, it

developed an extensive distribution network which also helped it take its products to rural

markets in India. Here, to discuss the strategy, we consider the simple concept of 4 P’s, namely;

product (customization), price, place (distribution) and production.

PRODUCT

1998 was 51st year of Indian independence, hence Nokia provided the ring tone of National song

“Saare Jahan se Achha ye Hindustan Hamara” in 5110 model. The introductory offer for this

model also had inter-changeable covers. The success of 5110 initiated Nokia to focus on feature-

specific localization.

In1999, Hindi (national language, and mother tongue of 43% Indians) user interface was

provided in Nokia 3210. Also, Nokia also tied up with Sony music for top 20 hit songs as ring

tones. Nokia 3210, became an instant hit. The model 3610 was launched with an enhancing

Hindi text messaging facility in 2001.

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The most successful customization came in 2003 when Nokia came with 1100 and 1108

specifically designed for Indian market. It had features of anti-slip grip, dust resistance and

torchlight. Since, in India people don’t know English in villages; Nokia came up with “Saral

Mobile Sandesh” (SMS in Hindi). Nokia sales increased from 58.2% in July 2003 to 59.6% in

July 2004.

Nokia was also the first handset manufacturer to launch games download in India in 2003. It had

spearheaded the industry in online distribution of tones, graphics and game downloads. These

services did not just increase their sale of mobile phones but were also fruitful as they made huge

profits by selling the games. In 2005, Nokia also launched games based on Indian mythology

namely ‘Makhan chor’ and ‘Swayamvar’. Both were arcade games involving two most of the

famous characters namely, Lord Krishna and Arjun.

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Another feature that Nokia came up with attract youth was one which enabled the customer to

slide in his or her photograph or for that matter the loved ones,' in the picture frame behind the

phone. This was a part of Nokia 2112 model (CDMA), wherein the message is clear-personalize

your phone. Earlier they had a similar feature in GSM handset Nokia 2100. "We have made a

personality statement through the campaign. The feel of the campaign is such that it would evoke

a 'sense of being,'" said Sanjay Behl, Head of Marketing, Nokia India. Menon, M. (2005)

Nokia also tied up with Bharti cellular in 2005 to customize its handsets through which its users

could access multimedia services by using an additional key on the mobile phone. Also since

many FM channels were introduced in India in early 2000’s, Nokia banked on the opportunity by

coming with FM phones attracting a lot of youth. Later on in 2005, Nokia came with SMS

services in other Indian languages including Marathi, Tamil, Bengali and Kannada.

In November 2007, Nokia came with Bollywood classic movie ‘Sholay’ preloaded in N95 8GB

and N81. This gave opportunity to cinema buffs to now watch the movie Sholay on the go. The

N series is a multimedia sub-brand of Nokia. "It is one of the biggest blockbusters that the Hindi

film industry has churned out. There could have been no better option than this flick, which is

liked by every age group equally," said Vineet Taneja, business director of multimedia, Nokia

India.

“As part of its strategy to connect with the young population in India, Nokia has been associating

with youth passions like Cool Sports, Music, and Fashion. In the genre of Cool Sports, Nokia

hosted the Ngage QD Gaming Championship, Defend Your Turf, the first ever futsal

Championship. Over the last few years, in music Nokia has brought several world class music

artists including, Shakira, Shaggy, Mark Knopfler, Sting and Enrique Iglesias to India. In

Fashion, Nokia has a strong association with Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week and Nseries

lifestyle led campaigns amongst others.”

In another attempt to give India handsets which will enable them to use more features, Nokia is

in process of making cheap GPRS enabled handset. In this handset, the users can surf the net at a

very reasonable price. Again targeting the low and middle income class, who are interested in

using the new facilities available. "We are planning to bring internet access to all the masses in

India through our low-cost handsets... The company is working diligently towards it," said

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Nokia's Senior Vice President - Entry Business Unit (Mobile Phones Business Group) Soren

Peterson in an interview.

PRICING

Pricing of the phones was of prime importance for success in India. Being a developing country,

the purchasing power of the people was not high as compared to other developed countries.

Research unveiled that phones of lower price range (below Rs8000 or $200 approx.) amounted

for 65% of the total sales in India. Nokia depended majorly on rural market; therefore, pricing

was a major success factor for the company. Nokia did achieve success in India, in spite of the

fact, that its handsets were not the cheapest in the market.

Nokia 1100, which was specially launched for India, was priced at Rs. 4000. This price,

although was at a premium as compared to entry level phones, but was enhanced with several

special features which were not available in other phones of the same price. The head of

marketing at Nokia India, Sanjay Behl said, “The phone is a combination of product benefits

and pricing”. This model further became the best selling model ever in India. It also increased

the brand preference of Nokia from 66% to 77% within 9 months of its launch. This show how

nature of Indian consumer is value sensitive. The major strategic move by Nokia in this regard

was that it charged a lower price in India than most of other countries for the same model.

PLACE (Distribution)

Mobile phones in India are considered as to be consumer durable, hence they are not just sold

through exclusive telecom retailers but also through general retailers. Nokia designed modeled

its distribution strategy on lines of FMCG business.

An important reason for the success of mobile phones in India was limited reach of the landline

phones in several parts of the country. By mid 2005 the mobile phone sales in smaller towns and

cities was higher than those of the metropolitans. The sales in these urban markets were

beginning to saturate. The distribution in these small towns called for nontraditional channels.

Nokia strengthened their distribution network, and selected distributors from FMCG line or

experience holders for durables or automobiles. In fact, about a fifth of the mobile phone sales in

India were consumer durables or service providers’ shops.

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In 1995, Nokia tied up with HCL Infinet for sales and distribution of its phones and appointed

them as Nokia distributor for GSM handsets in India. HCL Infinet provided a complete range of

Nokia’s GSM mobile phones, data products and mobile services. The retail network they

developed was very strong and dedicated. They came up with Nokia Professional Centers

(NPCs), Nokia Priority Dealers (NPDs) and redistribution stockiest all over India. NPCs were

one stop shops for the complete range of Nokia mobile phones, batteries, chargers, accessories,

covers, hands free kits and car kits amongst others. It also provided the after sales services for

Nokia’s handsets. NPCs were multi-brand retail outlets with 60% of their area dedicated to

Nokia. While redistribution stockiest were for supplying handsets across India.

HCL also came with Nokia Care Centers (NCCs) for providing solutions to mobile related

problems. These were spread all over the country and provided phone repairing software up-

gradation services. They also displayed complete range mobile phones, data products and

complete mobile phones accessories. Another effective concept that Nokia up with in 2005, was

that of Nokia Concept Store in Bangalore in south India. It was located in the city centre, MG

Road. “This concept store is being set up with an objective to provide Indian consumer with a

truly enhanced mobility experience through its cast and exciting range of Nokia products and

mobile accessories. We are keen to lead a unique mobile retailing experience for consumers

through these tough points” Sanjay Behl, Head Marketing, Nokia India.

“Nokia Concept Store in Bangalore was the country's first concept store in India to provide

customers a complete experiential mobile experience. The store measures approximately 2,000

square feet and is designed to reflect the design ethic of the Nokia brand. The layout and design

of the store follows the same pattern as Nokia Concept Stores around the world to guarantee an

easy and informative shopping experience. With a simple-to-navigate setup, open doorways and

low-glare lighting, the store provides a relaxed and satisfying customer experience. The high-

tech display terminals and dedicated areas for Imaging, Smart, Multimedia, Business and Entry

phones make it easy for the public to keep up to date on the latest technologies and trends in the

mobile industry. Nokia today has eight Nokia 'Concept stores' in Bangalore, Delhi, Jaipur,

Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Chennai and Indore”

Nokia kept its promise of enhancing the mobile experience of its customers. In October 2007,

they launched the first 'global format' Nokia Concept Store in Western India at Indore. “Located

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at MG road and spread over 3500 sq. feet, square feet, the state-of-the-art Nokia Concept Store

will provide mobile phone consumers in Indore a world class interactive and informative

shopping experience, allowing them to get a first-hand experience before making a purchase

decision.”. Nokia’s vast distribution network covered almost every city or town where mobile

network was available.

PROMOTION

Nokia entered India with one for mobile services to start, and had to establish its non-popular

brand. To build credentials the company used both print and television campaigns. In the early

days, print media concentrated on Nokia’s status, global R&D and international awards won to

establish brand awareness. Even after the market grew, Nokia’s advertisements concentrated on

product attributes.

Gaining acceptance of Indian consumer is not as simple as other countries. India is a

multicultural country, where people have strong believe in their mythology, nationality and

cultures and to add to it, their purchasing power was not as high as other countries where Nokia

was operating. Hence, to achieve approval of the mobile consumers in India, Nokia decided to

localize its products heavily. For the purpose of developing the products specifically for markets

with high population and low penetration, Nokia developed a team called Mobile Entry Business

Unit.

Until 2003, Nokia used all their international advertisements with slight modifications in India.

For instance, the advertisement for NGAGE showed two young person’s getting bored stuck in

traffic jam and then they show them combat with super natural powers. It showed how NGAGE

could help them pass their time. But it did not have a very good affect on the Indian audience as

they could not relate themselves to the people over there. There was needed to make special

advertisements for India.

Nokia India marked its special presence in advertisement world with ‘Made for India’ ad

campaign on the launch of Nokia 1100. This was the fourth advertisement created in India but

created maximum stir in the industry. The advertisement showed that the Nokia 1100 was

launched first in India and addressed all the concerns of Indian consumers. The advertisement

made a clear deviation from hitherto hip urban-focused advertisements that Nokia are known for.

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It aimed at highlighting the broad appeal of mobile phones across all socio-economic segments

of India. The aim was to highlight Nokia’s Indian image.

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Analysts believed that Nokia would lose the top end consumers who attached lot of importance

to mobile phones as a style statement. Sanjeev Sharma, Managing Director, Nokia Mobile

Phones India, said “No, not in the least does the latest piece of communication create dissonance

in the minds of consumers with regard to Nokia’s brand image. The technology driven ads have

created a rub-off on the entire Nokia range. And fashion and lifestyle products create a desire at

all levels, be it the first-time urban or rural user”. The advertisement was a success, and Nokia

1100 went on to become best seller not just in India but also worldwide.

The major reason for handset was, Nokia was expecting exponential growth in small towns and

rural areas. The company planned to build brand loyalty amongst this segment. They conducted

research to get to know the needs and concerns of the users of this segment. As Sanjeev Sharma

said, “One of the things we found out was that the torch is of high value. Besides that a major

concern was dust… People feared that dust might penetrate through the gaps of their keypad, and

that explains the extensive use of handset covers in India. Another major concern was the grip of

the phone, because of the climatic conditions in this country people usually have sweaty palms,

and therefore the, what if the handset slips?”

One advertisement that Nokia made in 2000 was a public interest advertisement, urging users to

switch off their cell phones while watching movies. It showed a clip where hero picks up an

argument with person sitting in front row in a movie theatre. One of the advertisements was for

Nokia 2280 which was offered in bundle with reliance mobile connection. This was a simple one

which educated the audience of availability of cheap handset with bundled airtime.

Cricket is considered a religion in India. Nokia has had a strong association with the sport

through its advertisements. In an advertisement released during cricketing season of 2003, a

cricket fan was watching cricket with his daughter and a prospective groom walks in, the father

throws the ball to him, which he is unable to catch. The dejected young lad starts to walk away;

just then the television gets blank. The enthusiast fan is frantically trying to find the score. The

boy gets a message of latest score update on his Nokia mobile phone, impressing the father. The

advertisement targeted the middle class youth of India. Recently, Nokia sponsored the ICC

World Twenty20 2007 in South Africa. To its luck, India won the world cup and this format of

the game was an instant hit in India. In 2007 itself, Nokia was the 'on air' sponsor for the West

Indies World Cup and for the Champions Trophy held in India, 2006.

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In 2004, network provider Hutch came up with television on mobile phone. “Clips from these 13

television channels can be accessed by Hutch and Orange users through their EDGE-enabled

mobile phones, said Mr Harit Nagpal, Chief Marketing Officer, Hutch” (Web 18). Hutch then

came with an advertisement showing people watching television on Nokia 6630 which was

EDGE enabled. This helped Nokia to increase its sales.

Another successful, India-specific campaign was the one where phones with Saral Mobile

Sandesh (Hindi SMS) were promoted. It targeted the rural India, where mobile penetration is

low. The advertisement showed a postman giving a mobile to a girl which was sent to her by her

brother so that she can exchange Hindi SMSes with her brother. It was a audience specific

advertisement and encouraged the use of Hindi SMS amongst the rural population

Nokia was not the market leader in colored handsets. To regain its share, it came up with

advertisement ‘Har Jeb mei Rang’ (color in every pocket) for Nokia 2600. It was a very colorful

advertisement, showing colors spreading out of Nokia phone. It showed the idea of color

spreading happiness in every life.

Nokia came up with some good advertisements around the end of 2007. One of them starring the

superstar of Hindi cinema, Shah Rukh Khan calling Nokia as his friend and companion for 10

years. He expresses how it brings and spreads happiness and how it has been with him through

the ups and downs of his life. Other advertisements have been model specific as Nokia’s

advertisements have always been. Other advertisements include Nokia 7900 Prism, “The new

edge in fashion” and Nokia E series, “Success is the name of the game”. Another advertisement

shows Nokia 1650 with features of cricket game, alarm amongst others at a very reasonable

price.

“As a part of its strategy to enrich mobile user experience, Nokia announced its association with

Bollywood's most awaited multi star blockbuster, Om Shanti Om (OSO). As a part of this tie-up,

Nokia users can exclusively watch OSO movie clips, behind the scenes videos, ring tones and

wallpapers on their mobile phones. Nokia has created a special 'OSO Crazy mobisode', animated

characters of 'OM' (played by Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan) that can be downloaded

exclusively on all Nokia GPRS enabled handsets by dialing 55555 or from www.nokia.co.in/oso,

a special website created for Nokia and OSO association”.

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Nokia followed model-specific advertising for most part. Different advertisements were made for

each model of Nokia, making it easy to target the specific audience, which will demand that

model. Even different media was used according to the audience. Nokia even faced the problem

of brand identification in the early stages as there were no specific signs suggesting that it was an

advertisement from Nokia. Since 2005, Nokia has embarked a new advertising plan to

consolidate its ad campaigns and strengthen its brand identity.

Nokia Brand Personality

Nokia has detailed many personality characteristics for its brand, but employees do not have to

remember every characteristic. They do, however, have to remember the overall impression of

the list of attributes, as you would when thinking about someone you have met. As the focus is

on customer relationships, the Nokia personality is like a trusted friend. Building friendship and

trust is at the heart of the Nokia brand. And the human dimension created by the brand

personality carries over into the positioning strategy for the brand. Nokia emerged as India's

Most Trusted Brand for the third year in a row, topping a field of 300 product and service brands.

"Receiving the award was a humbling and exhilarating moment," D Shivakumar, MD, Nokia

India, said. If Nokia manages to hold on to its position as India's Most Trusted Brand in 2011, it

will have equaled a feat previously accomplished by just one brand: Colgate, winning India's

Most Trusted Brand title four years in a row. Of course, it takes a lot more than the softer aspects

for a brand like Nokia to win the trust sweepstakes consistently. A key building block to this is

Nokia's extensive service network. Nokia claims that 70% of consumers who approach customer

care are served within an hour, with 90% of phone issues handled within 24 hours. Even before

environment friendliness became a really hot-button issue in India, Nokia developed a widely

publicized recycling program, run through its retail and collection points. The waters of course

have been particularly choppy for Nokia itself over the last year or so. It has lost market share in

India as well as overseas. Besides the increase in the sheer number of competitors, many of the

new brands are perceived to be more innovative, an attribute that Nokia previously dominated.

The Finnish mobile phone major has been slow to react on growing categories within the lower

end of the mobile handset segment like dual SIM phones and at the high end with touch screen

devices. 

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Perceptual Map

A perceptual map was created for the smartphone industry based on two axes, the business –

personal axis, as well as the exciting, trendy – reliable, family axis.

Business: Smartphones emphasizing functionality, including the ability to process email and

security provisions

Personal: Smartphones emphasizing entertainment functionality, including games, music and

video apps

Exciting, trendy: Smartphones emphasizing aesthetics and technological advancement, and

being up to date

Reliable, family: Smartphones emphasizing ease of use, family oriented, and sincere

 On the whole, while the smart phone industry seems to be varied in terms of perceptions, each

specific smart phone is seen to serve a specific purpose to enhance communication and

connectivity, and is catered to a specific niche.

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Ultimately, based on the current perception map as above, we can see that Nokia is classified as

being reliable and for families, whereas with regards to the business – personal axis, they do not

have a distinctive position, and is appealing to both business and personal mobile phone users. 

Nokia Positioning

When Nokia positions its brand in the crowded mobile phone marketplace, its message must

clearly bring together the technology and human side of its offer in a powerful way. The specific

message that is conveyed to consumers in every advertisement and market communication

(though not necessarily in these words) is "Only Nokia Human Technology enables you to get

more out of life"

In many cases, this is represented by the tag line, "We call this human technology". This gives

consumers a sense of trust and consideration by the company, as though to say

that Nokia understand what they want in life, and how it can help. And it knows that technology

is really only an enabler so that you-the customer-can enjoy a better life. Nokia thus uses a

combination of aspiration, benefit-based, emotional features, and competition-driven positioning

strategies. It owns the "human" dimension of mobile communications, leaving its competitors

wondering what to own (or how to position themselves), having taken the best position for itself.

Nokia Product Design

Nokia is a great brand because it knows that the essence of the brand needs to be reflected in

everything the company does, especially those that impact the consumer. Product design is

clearly critical to the success of the brand, but how does Nokia manage to inject personality into

product design? The answer is that it gives a great deal of thought to how the user of its phones

will experience the brand, and how it can make that experience reflect its brand character. The

large display screen, for example, is the "face" of the phone. Nokia designers describe it as

the "eye into the soul of the product". The shape of phones is curvy and easy to hold. The

faceplates and their different colors can be changed to fit the personality, lifestyle, and mood of

the user. The soft key touch pads also add to the feeling of friendliness, expressing the brand

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personality. Product design focuses on the consumer and his needs, and is summed up in the

slogan, "human technology."

Nokia now accounts for over half of the value of the Finland stock market, and has taken huge

market share from its competitors. According to one brand valuation study carried out in mid-

1999, it ranked 11th on the world's most valuable brand list, making it the highest-ranking non-

U.S. brand. As has been pointed out, it has unseated Motorola. Nokia achieved its brilliant feat

through consistent branding, backed by first-class logistics and manufacturing, all of which

revolve around what consumers what.

Nokia highlighted landmark achievements for its key service areas:

Location: Launched in late January, the new Ovi Maps features drive and walk navigation in 74

countries and 46 languages, as well as traffic information in many. All new Nokia GPS-enabled

smartphones will include this great service – at no extra cost.

- More than 3 million Ovi Maps downloaded to date

- More than one download per second, 24 hours a day; around 100,000 downloads a day

- Rich functionality and the best mobile maps coverage in the world

Music: Last week, Comes With Music grew to 27 markets with its arrival in the Middle East.

People that own a Comes With Music device can download as much free music as they want

from Ovi Music and, unlike other online music services, can keep them on their device forever.

Music downloaded from the Ovi Music à la carte menu is also DRM-free.

- Ovi Music is in 33 markets, making Nokia the world’s most scaled global digital music

provider

- The average person using Comes With Music downloads 500 free songs in the first few weeks

of using the service, which would cost about EUR 450 from iTunes

- More than nine million tracks in the Ovi Music catalogue

Store: Launched in May 2009, multiple upgrades and experience improvements have improved

the browsing and search experience, leading to a significant increase in the number of

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downloads. In 2010, Ovi Store will have more languages, billing support, improvements and of

course, lots more apps.

- More than one million downloads a day

- The number of people shopping on the store doubles every month

- Fully localized store in 18 countries supporting 30 languages, and serving 90 percent of Store

visitors with their local language

- Integrated mobile billing from 60 operators in 18 countries

Messaging: A million people a month open an Ovi Mail account, often their first online identity,

bringing the total number of accounts created to more than six million in just over a year.

Working closely with operators, Nokia Messaging, Nokia’s push email service, is now signed up

with over 70 operators.

Nokia Money: Global financial services initiative starts in India

In partnership with YES BANK, a commercial pilot of the global mobile financial services

initiative has started in Pune, one of the largest metropolitan areas in India. The service in Pune,

called Mobile Money Services by YES BANK, brings financial services to the consumers’

mobile devices.

“The Nokia Money initiative based on Obopay’s platform is initially targeted at growth markets

and designed to work in partnership with multiple network operators and banks, involving

distributors and merchants in a dynamic open ecosystem to seamlessly provide the new services.

YES BANK is our first partner in India to bring this service to market,” said Teppo Paavola, VP

and general manager of Mobile Financial Services at Nokia.

- Initial phase: consumers will be able to transfer money to another person just by using the

person’s mobile phone number, pay utility bills as well as recharge their prepaid SIM cards (SIM

top-up).

- Later, consumers will also be able to pay merchants for goods and services.

Nokia Life Tools:

Nokia Life Tools is providing rural subscribers with livelihood and life improvement services,

including agriculture and education services. Subscribers primarily depend on the agriculture

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trade and live around the poverty threshold – which makes parting with one or two dollars each

month for a mobile service a substantial investment. Since its launch in mid-2009, around one

million people have already subscribed to the service. Nokia Life Tools is available in India and

Indonesia, and will roll out to more markets this year.

SWOT Analysis

STRENGTHS

Size enable Nokia to amortize Research and Development costs and to get cost

advantages

Brand position: Top 5 popular brand in India 2011 (Brand Equity Survey)

Listed among the world’s largest corporation (Fortune 500) Global brands of the year

2011.

Nokia saw good growth in its India business, especially in sales of dual SIM phones in

2011 4Q Dec.

WEAKNESSES

The Ngage is considered a flop.

Being the market leader, its increase role in Symbian is giving Nokia a bad image, much

like Microsoft in the PC industry.

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Android51%

ios24%

Symbian12%

Research in Motion 9%

Bada 2%

Microsoft 2%

4Q11 Market share in %

Slow to adopt new ways of thinking: a good example is clamshell phones which are

preferred by many customers. Nokia was reluctant to produce a clamshell until year

2004, when it launched its first model.

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OPPORTUNITIES

Increase their presence in the CDMA market, is still dominated by LG, also concentrate

on 4G and Edge

Internet usage on mobiles:

NET USAGE ATTRIBUTE % MOBILE INTERNET

USERS

Usage dynamics

Have activated GPRS service on mobile phones 87

Have GPRS- enabled phone but not activated GPRS

service

8

Use daily 63

Use more than 1 hr a day 32

Searched/ bought travel/ non-travel product on mobile 23

Mode of Usage

WAP enabled service provided by the operator 72

Use pre-installed/ downloaded application on mobile

access internet services

41

Browse website directly using a mobile browser 61

Use push mail service 21

Cheap mobile handsets which provides GPRS facilities in it.

New growth markets where cell phone adoption still has room to go, including India and

other countries.

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Leverage its infrastructure business to get preference and a stronger position with carriers

Opportunities to target on household rural women as its unreached segment yet

Gender of mobile owner %

2006 20100%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

femalemale

Note: Base is all India-rural, mobile owners 2006 (R1) and 2010 (R2)

Source: The Marketing White Book (2011-12) Business World

THREATS

Delayed entry in 3G sectors creates a risk to be displaced by leaders like Motorola, LG,

NEC and others.

Asian OEMs who are entering the market very aggressively (TCL, nGo Bird)

ODMs (HTC and others) enabling carriers to leverage their customer power bypassing

the handset vendor. Operators want to lessen their dependency on handset vendors and

the dominance of Nokia. Orange, O2, and many other operators globally are selling their

own brand of phones.

Pricing actions due to the competitive environment in both the smartphone and mobile

phone markets can impact the company.

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PEST Analysis

In the case of Nokia, it can be classified as international organization. It is basic for global brand,

which is required to focus on macro environmental factors, such as Nokia. Macro environmental

factors comprise Political, Economics, Society, and Technology, viz, PEST Analysis. It is

necessary force that Nokia has to concern and know what is happening in the other countries at

the moment. Because there are different culture and different external factors between different

countries, Nokia has to adjust its strategic plan in order to develop international market.

POLITICAL FACTORS

Political/Legal environment are usually considered as one because they are enforced by the

nation’s government. It is vital for Nokia’s operation because different nations with their

respective government have different Political/Legal platforms respectively; Nokia operating

on global level must abide to ground rules and regulation in different markets of host countries

around the world. To its success, Nokia surveys its scope of limits in order to isolate prohibited

actions, regulations and aid from the government so as to withstand the international trade.

Quotas (limit to goods imported), embargoes (restrictions), tariff and tax charges, subsidies and

patents over certain technology or equipment are decided by the government so Nokia works

hand-to-hand with authorities to gain maximum advantage to the Nation’s target market. Laws of

copyright and abuse of phone usage keeps Nokia ahead, it limits any space of intrusion or misuse

of their products.

As markets are deregulated, both operators and manufacturers are free to act independently of

government intervention. In Countries like India and China where Partial regulations exist,

government intervention does take place.

ECONOMIC FACTORS

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Economy in tells the production and consumption of goods and services. As far as Nokia is

concerned, the economic system is critical as it can control what the organization is to produce,

how it should produce and the category of recipient who should use their end products.

On one hand, aspects of international trade is important for Nokia being the global supplier of

mobile phones and on the other hand, the knowledge concerning the nation’s economic status

(Type of economic system practiced, Inflation rate, level of employment and exchange rate) is

equally as important to realize future plans for personal and financial safety together with

enhancing entrepreneurship.

With incomes rising, people have more disposable income, which enables consumers to be more

selective with their choice of mobile phone, looking to other factors rather than fulfilling the

most basic of user needs (text messaging and phone calls) and price being such a key factor.

SOCIAL FACTORS

Socio-culture focuses on how Nokia blends in with components in a society; that is culture,

social class, lifestyle and demographic and psychological factors making up the society. Nokia

operates in a diverse number of culture and all levels of social class simply because different

models are frequently released to satisfy all individuals despite their difference in race,

nationality, religion, income level or beliefs among each other. Mobile phones can easily adapt

to any culture and can be used to support different aspects and existing patterns of Individual’s

lifestyle or behavior.

The rise of the so-called information society has made telecommunications increasingly more

important to consumers, both in terms of work and leisure. Users are more aware of mobile

phone handset choice and advancements due to increased information availability.

TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS

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Technology change defines how fast technology advances. Being the predominate medium by

which we get things done; technology as a process, in terms of mobile phones defines the way

we make contact. Not only does it helps shape culture but also changes other aspects within

and/or outside the organization for example the need to upgrade Equipments to en-better the

manufacturing of the end products. The success of Nokia is based on constant innovation on

human technology. By enhancing communication and exploring new ways to exchange

information, connecting people, Nokia allow users to get more out of life.

Segmenting the Market Using Multiple Variables

Nokia India had a 74% market share in the GSM mobile handset market at the end of the year

2006. And the company has found a new way of connecting with its consumers. The company

has embarked upon a brand new retail strategy that is based on the classification of its consumers

into four major groups that segment consumers in terms of product usage, income level and

lifestyle.

The classification is based on an extensive survey – The Nokia Segmentation Study – involving

42,000 consumers from 16 countries. The survey studied the impact that lifestyle choices and

attitudes have on the mobile devices purchased by consumers and how they use them. The

company is following separate marketing strategies for the four different segments that emerged

from this survey. The advertising campaigns for the segments are also different.

Nokia’s entire product portfolio has how been re-aligned towards these four groups to address

the specific needs of each.

The first of these segments is ‘Live’. This segment comprises first time users whose basic need is

to stay in touch, with voice as the main driver. This segment would be served basic handsets

which would be low on features and price. These will be functional phones and the target group

for these phones range from SEC C (low socio-economic class) to SEC A1+ (very high socio-

economic class) markets.

The second segment ‘Connect’ comprises more evolved users who look for more functionality,

features and connectivity. Accordingly, phones in this segment would have GPRS, camera and

music capabilities. The next two segments, ‘Achieve’ and ‘Explore’, consist of high-end users

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who would be offered Nokia’s top-end handsets. For example, ‘Achieve’ segment comprises

company executives who need to have business functionalities in their phones. Nokia’s E-series

(Enterprise series) is aimed at this segment with handsets having QWERTY keyboards and full

Internet capabilities.

‘Explore’ would be the most prominent segment for the company in the coming years. This

segment comprises high lifestyle users. This segment would see the most vibrant growth in the

coming years. The phones aimed at this segment will focus on five different functionalities:

applications, imaging, mobile TV, music and gaming. The company is fast developing the

ecosystem to support these functionalities. Nokia acquired music solution and content provider

Loud Eye and GPS solution provider Gate5. It has also launched its most high- profile handset,

which boasts of having a 5 megapixel camera and GPS capabilities apart from iPod quality

music. There is an increasing demand for convergence and multiple functionalities in high-end

handsets. The N- series will try to address this demand. Nokia feels that the new platform

strategy wherein different handsets are launched under a platform, like the N-Series, will become

a status and style statement, and bring in revenues.

Nokia Competitors

Nokia competitors are primarily in the Wireless Telecommunications Equipment Manufacturing

industry. Nokia also competes in the Wired Telecommunications Equipment Manufacturing,

Billing & Service Provisioning Software, and Customer Relationship Management, Marketing &

Sales Software sectors. Nokia competitors include: Samsung Electronics, Apple inc.,

Stephen Elop said Nokia is surrounded by a 'fire of competition', according to a company

memo:

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Nokia's chief executive has said that the mobile phone giant is "standing on a burning platform"

surrounded by a fire of competition, according to a leaked memo sent to staff.

The unusually frank document, sent by newly appointed Stephen Elop, suggests the company is

not doing enough to compete with Apple's iPhone or Google's Android smartphone, and that a

radical change is necessary. He compared the situation faced by the company to a story of a man

who jumps into freezing waters to escape a burning oil rig. "In ordinary circumstances, the man

would never consider plunging into icy waters," the memo, obtained by the AFP news agency,

said. "We too, are standing on a 'burning platform,' and we must decide how we are going to

change our behavior.” When we share the new strategy on February 11, it will be a huge effort to

transform our company," Elop wrote in the message on the company's internal website.

'Intense heat from competitors' Some British media say they have verified the authenticity of

the memo, but Nokia refused to comment on it when approached by Al Jazeera. Finnish-based

Nokia was once the leader in the mobile world, with a 40 per cent share in the mobile device

market up to the second quarter of 2008. But its fortunes have dropped recently, hitting 31 per

cent of the market in the fourth quarter of 2010.

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Elop said there were "multiple points of scorching heat" fuelling the "blazing fire around us".

"For example, there is intense heat coming from our competitors, more rapidly than we ever

expected." He said Apple and Android quickly took over the market, and criticized Nokia for

being slow to respond to changes in trends. "The first iPhone shipped in 2007, and we still don't

have a product that is close to their experience." "Android came on the scene just over two years

ago, and this week they took our leadership position in smartphone volumes. Unbelievable."

According to the leaked memo, Nokia has stopped developing its first smartphone using a

MeeGo operating system, which was seen as key to the firm's battle in the high-end smartphone

market. "We thought MeeGo would be a platform for winning high-end smartphones. However,

at this rate, by the end of 2011, we might have only one MeeGo product in the market," Elop

wrote.

Samsung Ambushes Nokia in Smartphone War

NEW DELHI: In a packed theatre, scores of excited movie buffs sat through a long march of

commercials patiently, but the organizers were dismayed. It was an exclusive premier of SRK-

starrer Ra.One for mobile phone maker Nokia's premium users at PVR Select City Walk mall in

Delhi, but the advertisements that had been running for the previous few minutes were

of Samsung mobile!

It had been quite a long time that Nokia was being the favorite handset of Indians where much

competition didn't affect the annual revenue of the company from India. But the latest study

made by Voice and data, it states that things are not going on the right way for the Finnish

Company.

Korean leading mobile handset maker Samsung's entry into the Indian market shows a tough

competition to Nokia in the coming days. Within a year Samsung made a grand increase (21.7)

in their revenue from India which makes around 5,720 crore in the fiscal year 2010-2011. Even

Nokia could earn revenue around 12,929 crore in 2010-11, it does not show any progress in the

growth comparing with the past. 

Even though Nokia dominating around 39% of the mobile market share in India, on the latest

statistics it's sure that Nokia's supremacy will be questioned as competition gets more tightened.

Samsung has grown much higher than its previous records. At present Samsung is able to sell

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around 30 lakh sets a month, which stimulates its growth. Overwhelming sales of Galaxy Tab

and Wave series mobile sets have really boosted the share profit of Samsung. 

Nokia's dual sim mobile phones have high demand in India as they have introduced the X1-01

and C2-00 sets as the latest reports say that these two handsets are having higher demand in the

Indian market. To be in the Indian market Nokia is setting new plans with the introduction of

more Qwerty and touch phones at very cheap price rates. 

Windows 8 Tablet

Windows 8 tablet vs iPad 3 wars may intensify in the days to come. Apple chief Tim Cook has

suggested that Windows 8 may fail

Windows 8 tablet vs iPad 3 wars has begun even before the formal launch of Windows 8 tablet

or even a full-fledged version of Windows 8 operating system in the market. There is so much

anticipation from the forthcoming Windows 8 tablet that everyone is expecting the tablet market

to undergo a sea change with its introduction in the market later this year or early next year.

The expected launch of the Windows 8 tablet seems to have unnerved even the market leader

Apple too whose iPad has been ruling the tablet market for the last three years. Apple bosses

seem to have been so much concerned with Windows 8 tablet that Tim Cook has gone on to

publicly criticizing the Microsoft’s forthcoming product.

Though the Apple boss didn’t really name Microsoft, his comments showed amply as to what he

actually meant. While responding to a question Tim Cook said, “Anything can be forced to

converge…But the problem is that the products are about tradeoffs. You begin to make tradeoffs

to the point where what you have left at the end of the day doesn’t please anyone…you can

converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but you know, those things are probably not going to be

pleasing to the user.”

Tim’s argument may seem very natural from surface, but probe a little bit and it will show his

frustration over the excitement that the Windows 8 has generated in the market. Microsoft, the

software giant is all set to update its Windows OS with an ARM processor friendly version,

called the Windows 8 before yearend. Windows 8, unlike its previous versions, will support

tablets and other ARM-powered products. Microsoft, on the other hand, has made deals with a

set of tech makers including its exclusive partner Nokia to build hardware for Windows 8. As a

46 | P a g e

whole, we are about to get a set of Windows 8 tablet.

One of the most talked about feature of the Windows 8 tablet will be a spectacular user interface.

The Windows 8 UI will almost look like the interface of Windows Phone 7, which is named

Metro. To remain competitive to iOS and Android, Windows might get a new and fresh UI.

Otherwise, customers won’t have any attraction towards the platform.

Experts say that the biggest advantage that Windows 8 tablet will have over its competitors

including iPad 3 is the diversity of hardware. Windows 8 is to enter into the tablet market with a

number of tablets from various technology companies manufacturing tablets. Besides Nokia, the

official hardware partner of Microsoft, many leading and midrange firms may likely manufacture

tablets for Windows 8. The list includes the biggies such as Samsung, HTC, ASUS, ZTE,

Huawei and Acer. All these companies have built smartphones for Windows Phone 7. This

diversity of products has been the major reason of Android’s triumph and, of course, it will push

Windows 8 as well. But with Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system a lot better and much

improved things may fall in line for it far easily than for Android tablets.

Nokia Market Share In India Falling (Losing Out To Local Players)

47 | P a g e

We expect that Nokia will be able to sell over 400 million mobile phones this year, out of which

more than 300 million will be from emerging markets like India and China. On the other hand,

Samsung is expecting 374 million mobile phone sales next year compared to estimated sales of

325 million this year. Nokia’s position has been sliding downward, with its market share in

emerging markets having declined from 45% in 2008 to about 30% in 2010, and it could slide

further to 27% by the end of 2011, by our estimates. If this pace of decline continues into 2012,

Nokia could very well yield its number one position to Samsung.

After overtaking Apple for the top spot in the smartphone market, Samsung is looking to

overtake Nokia in the overall mobile phone market in 2012. According to a report from Korea

Economic Daily, Samsung is expecting a 15% increase in its mobile phone sales next

year. Meanwhile Nokia’s fortunes continue to take a turn for the worse as its partnership

with Microsoft has failed to spark interest in its phones.

Nokia-Microsoft partnership not working

The loss of market share is not the only bad news surrounding Nokia. Last month, when the

company launched its Lumia smartphones in Europe, there was hope for a turnaround in the near

future. But it seems that these hopes may be short-lived, as a recent survey indicated that only

2% of Europeans are interested in buying Nokia’s Lumia 800, its first Microsoft Windows

Phone. If this consumer disinterest continues there could be substantial downside to our market

share forecast.

Nokia Lumia 800: Undoubtedly, the big daddy of all Windows Phones. It is not only the most

popular Windows Phone out there; it is undoubtedly the most popular and most exciting

Windows Phone out there. It is created for reviving Nokia’s sagging fortunes and bringing

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Windows Phone OS on offer.

 

It has exciting specs on offer, which include a 3.7-inch ClearBlack display, an 8-megapixel

camera, a 1.4 GHz processor and a 1450 mAh battery. But, the star of the handset is undoubtedly

the Windows Phone OS 7.5 – Mango OS, which has the much-advertized totally revamped UI. 

Aside from a deluge of Windows apps, Nokia has its own local scout functionality that comes

into play with Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi and 3G. But, it

has just 16 GB memory on board. 

We recently reviewed the Lumia 800 and it did turn out to be good. It recently got a price cut and

is now available at Rs. 23,790.

The landscape of the mobile market is changing every minute. Phones and tablets emerge, they

pass, they fail and sometimes they do better than our expectations. Same is the scene with the

49 | P a g e

companies behind these devices.

The mobile industry is one of the biggest industries out there. Companies like Samsung and

Apple are growing by the minute. One of the most important and most talked about is the Nokia-

Microsoft partnership. While the Nokia range of Windows phones is doing quite decently now.

There is a story behind how it came to be. Nokia was the stalwart of the mobile market until

some years ago. It reigned supreme on the mobile market for many years but with onslaught of

smartphones, Apple’s innovation and advancement and Android’s open source functionality,

Nokia started to fade into oblivion. Microsoft’s scene was not too different. While it will forever

remain a PC player primarily, its advent into the mobile space wasn’t very bad. It was Microsoft,

which really introduced us to quality smartphones with its now outdated O2 range long time

back. But then Microsoft too began sinking into oblivion.

But the Bazinga! Moment arrived when Nokia, suffering from huge losses, decided to move on

from the Symbian platform and Microsoft decide to compete with Android and iOS for market

share. Nokia, rather than opting for Android like everyone else opted for Windows as a platform.

Microsoft has been really serious about the mobile space. The Windows platform is now a strong

competitor for both iOS and Android. But, the trump card for both Nokia and Microsoft has been

50 | P a g e

undoubtedly the Lumia range of devices, especially the Nokia Lumia 800. Microsoft has cut no

corners when it comes to marketing the range while Nokia’s software and hardware tweaks are

pretty special too.

While HTC, Samsung and many other companies are investing themselves in the Windows

platform, the Nokia Lumia range is the top Windows mobile for sure. The reason behind this is

pretty simple – Nokia has firstly, features like local scout which have poured in from the

Symbian range and secondly, more aggressive marketing than any phone out there.

We recently reviewed the Nokia Lumia 800 and we can safely say that it does impress. Nokia

has even reduced the price making it even more desirable. On our report card, this partnership is

faring quite well. Agreed it hasn’t risen to the level of iOS or Android and there are still many

challenges to building and maintaining its place in the market, but it seems both Nokia and

Microsoft do understand that. They are being not only patient but they are putting in real efforts

at creating its niche. Maybe not now, but five years down the line; we believe people will start

considering a Windows phone whenever they plan to switch on to their next smartphone.

Background of Smartphones:

"Smartphones are mobile devices with evolved operating systems, that include Symbian Series

60, Android OS, iPhone OS, Blackberry OS, Linux among others," according to Siddharth Neri,

Analyst, Mobile Devices Research, Telecoms Practice, CyberMedia Research. In addition to

voice capability these devices have the ability to download and run applications, and store user

data beyond their required personal information management capabilities.

These devices are able to synchronize with a desktop or laptop computer. Smartphones offer

users PC-like functionality. These phones have ended the need to carry a separate PDA (Personal

Digital Assistant) and a mobile phone. Examples of present day smartphones include the Apple

iPhone 4, Motorola Milestone, HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy, Blackberry Curve etc. Users can

browse the Internet, check mail, blog, share photographs, update their status on social

networking sites, play games, and download applications with their smartphones. Till the end of

2010, a top-end smartphone used to be equipped with a 1GHz processor. Starting 2011, with the

use of dual core processors in smartphones, these devices have become more powerful as

compared to their predecessors.

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"Going forward these devices will become as powerful as present day laptops", adds Naveen

Mishra, Lead Analyst, Telecoms Practice, CyberMedia Research.

Smartphones like Motorola Atrix 4G, LG Optimus X2 use dual core processors. A dual core

processor is a combination of two 1 GHz processors, which can be used in parallel giving more

power and speed to the device. Though these processors enable more power but a smartphone’s

overall performance still depends on the integration of its software with its hardware. For

example, how closely the phone’s software and applications are able to interact with its hardware

taking out the maximum advantage of hardware abilities of the phone. The best example is Apple

iPhone 4, which runs on a single core processor but is able to take full advantage of its hardware

abilities.

Some of the applications where multi-core processor based smartphones can provide a boost to

usage are Gaming, Auto stereoscopic 3D enabled handsets, video streaming, HD (high

definition) video recording and playback, video conferencing, HDMI user interface.

Auto stereoscopic technique is a method of displaying images with perception of 3D depth

without requiring the viewer to wear any glasses. This activity needs extra power and the new

generation of smartphones is able to deliver this.

The dual core smartphones will also allow users to play advanced games, which need more

power. Users will be able to enjoy games or videos on a bigger screen by connecting the

smartphone output to an HDTV through HDMI ports. Again, the increased power of a new

generation smartphone will prove helpful in running HDMI applications.

Dual-core processors will enable full HD video playback and recording at 1080p resolution,

which is a big leap forward from the 720p video playback currently available in top present day

smartphone models. Beyond full HD support, dual-core processors would enable smartphones to

run more demanding applications like videoconferencing and video streaming. These

smartphones will also provide a significantly higher speed and performance for multitasking in

comparison to 'first generation' smartphones.

The market is expected to witness more excitement on the CPU front, with the launch of

multicore processor based smartphones by a number of mobile phone vendors by end 2011.

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Handset Tracker

CyberMedia Research Mobile Handsets Tracker 2011 reveals

India CY 2011 mobile phone sales (unit shipments) at 183 million, a 10% YoY increase

December 2011 shipments cross 17 million units, a 7% MoM growth

• Smartphones contribute 6.2%, multi-SIM handsets over 57% of total shipments in CY2011

• Total 3G phone shipments stood at 18 million units in CY2011

• Android emerges as a preferred OS for smartphones for a growing number of vendors 

New Delhi / Gurgaon, March 1, 2012: The overall India mobile handsets market recorded sales

(unit shipments) of 183 million units in CY 2011. In the overall India mobile handsets

market, Nokia retained leadership position with 31% share, followed by Samsung at No. 2 with

15% and Micromax at No. 3 with 5%, in terms of sales (unit shipments) during CY 2011.

This was reported in the India Monthly Mobile Handsets Market Review, CY 2011,

December 2011 release, published today by CyberMedia Research, a Technology, and

Entrepreneurship, Utilities, Healthcare and User intelligence firm.

Table 1. India Monthly Mobile Handset Shipments (millions of units), CY 2011*

*Source: CyberMedia Research India Monthly Mobile Handsets Market Review, CY 2011,

December 2011 release

 

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Feature Phones7%

Smartphones93%

Year on Year Growth (in %)

Growth of Smartphones

In 2011 the India smartphones market witnessed the launch of 150 models by over 30 vendors. 

Smartphone shipments touched 11.2 million units in calendar year 2011 recording a YoY growth

of 87%. Nokia emerged as the leader in the smartphones segment with a 38% share followed by

Samsung with 28% share in CY 2011. RIM dropped to third place with a 15% share.

Table 2. India Mobile Handsets Market: Shares of Leading Vendors in Smartphones*

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Nokia RIM Samsung0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

CY 2010 (%)CY2011 (%)

*Source: CyberMedia Research India Monthly Mobile Handsets Market Review, CY 2011,

December 2011 release

The share of Android OS in the smartphones category saw tremendous growth of over 600% in

CY 2011 (34% share) as compared to CY 2010 (9% share). This growth was mainly on account

of an increasing number of handset vendors adopting Android as preferred OS for their

smartphones.

“In 2012, the proportion of smartphones with extended features like NFC and 3D gaming are

likely to increase. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft and Nokia take their partnership to

the next level with a new range of smart devices based on the Windows 7.5 Mango OS platform.

For instance, the Nokia Lumia 610 has been announced at the Mobile World Congress 2012 at

Barcelona, even as we go to press. It is expected that this phone would be aggressively priced to

compete with smartphones from the Android and RIM stable”, stated Naveen Mishra, Lead

Telecoms Analyst, CyberMedia Research.

Multi-SIM Mobile Handsets

Multi-SIM handset shipments accounted for 57% of the total India mobile handsets market

during CY 2011, representing an year-on-year increase of 61%. Nokia was the market leader in

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the category with a nearly 13% share during the year.

Table 3. India Mobile Handsets Market: Shares of leading Vendors in Multi-SIM 

Mobile Handsets*

G'Five Micromax Maxx Nokia Samsung0

5

10

15

20

25

CY 2010 in %CY2011 in %

*Source: CyberMedia Research India Monthly Mobile Handsets Market Review, CY 2011,

December 2011 release

“After a long wait, Nokia introduced its dual-SIM phone portfolio to the India market in

September 2010. The innovative products in the Finnish vendor’s portfolio helped Nokia become

the market leader in the category. Some of the key features in Nokia’s dual-SIM portfolio were

‘touch-and-type’ and ‘easy swipe’; the latter allows customers to change their secondary SIM

without powering off the phone”, stated Tarun Pathak, Analyst, Telecoms Practice,

CyberMedia Research.

“During CY 2011 the dual-SIM category also extended its presence to the 3G and smartphone

(Android) segments”, Tarun further added. 

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3G Phones

During CY 2011, close to 250 unique 3G handset models were shipped from approximately 30

different vendors. The total shipments of 3G phones in the country touched nearly 18 million

units, a year-on-year growth of 153%. Nokia again emerged as the market leader in this category

followed by Samsung and RIM.

Table 3. India Mobile Handsets Market: Shares of leading Vendors in 3G

Mobile Handsets*

Nokia Samsung Sony Ericsson0

10

20

30

40

50

60

CY 2010 in %CY 2011 in %

*Source: CyberMedia Research India Monthly Mobile Handsets Market Review, CY 2011,

December 2011 release

57 | P a g e

“In anticipation of increased 3G data usage among subscribers all the major handset vendors

introduced their 3G phone portfolios to the India market during CY 2011”, stated Naveen

Mishra, Lead Telecoms Analyst, CyberMedia Research.

“3G is a relatively new phenomenon in India with active subscribers estimated at only 15 million

as of December 2011. This may be directly attributed to the lack of 3G network availability in

many locations and the poor quality of service experienced by existing subscribers. Therefore, in

many respects 2012 will be a ‘test year’ for the growth and adoption of 3G handsets and data

services in the country. It will be interesting to see how new alliances and offerings emerge from

handset vendors, service providers and content developers to target mobile subscribers with

innovative device plus data service bundles”, Naveen further added.

 Notes for Users

1) CyberMedia Research, India uses the term “shipments” to describe the number of handsets

leaving the factory premises for OEM sales or stocking by distributors and retailers. For the

convenience of media, the term ‘shipments’ has been interchangeably used with 'sales' in the

press release, but this reflects the market size in terms of units of mobile handsets and not their

absolute value. In the case of handsets imported into the country it represents the number leaving

the first warehouse to OEMs, distributors and retailers. CyberMedia Research does not track the

number of handsets brought on their person by individual passengers landing on Indian soil from

overseas destinations or ‘grey market’ handsets. These are, therefore, not part of the CyberMedia

Research numbers reported here. 

2) CyberMedia Research, India tracks shipments of mobile handsets on a monthly basis.

However, as per convention, the market size may be reported on a calendar quarter basis where

appropriate to the context; in all such cases this refers to an aggregated number for the three

calendar months in the quarter to which the press release refers.

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Nokia24%

Samsung 18%

Apple5%Lg Electronics

5%ZTE3%

RIM3%

HTC2%

Huawei2%

Motorola2%

Sony Ericsson2%

Others34%

2011 market share in %

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If you look at the statistics closely, Chinese manufacturers ZTE and Huawei have seen a

substantial amount of growth and are giving tough competition to companies like LG and RIM.

Korean mobile handset maker Samsung is catching up fast with its Finnish competitor Nokia on

the back of a strong growth in smartphones and feature phones in India. 

According to the latest figures made available by the Voice & Data study, Samsung posted a

growth of 21.7 per cent to register revenues of Rs 5,720 crore in 2010-11 from India, from Rs

4,700 crore in the previous fiscal. 

Nokia on the other hand had a flat growth, with revenues of Rs 12,929 crore in 2010-11 from

India compared to Rs 12,900 in the previous fiscal, according to the Voice & Data study. 

April 19th 2012 – Nokia Q1 2012 results

Struggling cellphone maker Nokia has suffered one of its worst quarterly results ever, blaming

tough competition for a huge €929 million ($1.2 billion) net loss as sales plunged, especially in

the smartphone market.

The first-quarter loss compared with a net profit of €344 million in the same period last year and

came as revenues slid 30 percent to €7.4 billion. Its share price tumbled more than 3.5 percent to

close at €3.63 ($4.75) on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, even though investors had been prepared

for poor results.

The Finnish company is fighting stiff competition from the likes of Apple Inc.’s iPhone and

cellphone makers using Google Inc.’s popular Android software — such as Samsung Electronics

Inc. and HTC of Taiwan. It said net sales of devices crashed 40 percent to €4.2 billion, with

smartphone sales down by more than half at €1.7 billion, as it failed to assert a challenge in the

smartphone race with new Windows-based handsets a year after teaming up with Microsoft

Corp. It also issued a grim outlook for the second quarter, saying earnings would be “similar to,

or below” those of the first quarter and that it will speed up its goal to cut costs by €1 billion by

2013.

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CEO Stephen Elop described the quarter as “disappointing,” conceding that Nokia had faced

“greater than expected competitive challenges.” Tough times for Nokia- He said the company

will get rid of noncore assets and focus on “making any necessary changes to our organization,

structure or team,” but yet no details have been received about it.

“We are navigating through a significant company transition in an industry environment that

continues to evolve and shift quickly,” Stephen Elop said.

The head of Nokia’s global sales, Colin Giles, will leave after two years in the job, Nokia said, as

it restructures the sales unit, “reducing a layer of sales management.” Sales in China — the

company’s second-largest market — plunged 70 percent in the quarter to €577 million, with a

35-percent drop in Europe, its largest market, to €1.35 billion.

Nokia has been the leading handset maker since 1998, but after reaching a global goal of 40

percent market share in 2008 its share has shrunk to below 29 percent last year, when it sold

some 419 million devices. It is expected to soon lose its status as the biggest maker of handsets.

“This was definitely one of Nokia’s worst quarters ever,” said Neil Mawston from Strategy

Analytics. “Nokia’s problem in developed markets is spreading to developing markets and that is

causing a lot of their challenges. I think we’ll see Samsung overtaking Nokia as the biggest

volume maker of handsets.” Mawston reckons Nokia’s global market share fell to some 22

percent in the first quarter, with smartphone share plunging to a record-low of 8 percent.

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The former bellwether of the industry has lost its dominant position against the likes of Apple

and Google in the growing smartphone segment. It has also been squeezed in the low-end by

Asian manufacturers making cheaper phones, such as China’s ZTE.

Nokia hopes to remedy its slide with the new Windows Phone 7, launched in October, eight

months after Elop announced a partnership with Microsoft. Nokia says the Windows operating

system will be the main platform in its new phones, phasing out the MeeGo and Symbian

platforms, considered clumsy by many operators.

Nokia has since launched several versions of Windows-based Lumia phones. It’s cheapest — the

Lumia 610 — was unveiled for Asian markets with an expected price tag of some €190 ($249).

Still, sales of smartphones dropped to 12 million in the first quarter, from 24 million a year

earlier, while volume sales of cell phones fell to 83 million from 108 million in 2011.

The average selling price of Nokia devices also fell, to €51 from €65 a year earlier. “That was

one of the biggest surprises — a 22 percent drop year-on-year,” Mawston said. “Nokia is not

only battling increased competition, they’re also battling sharply falling prices.”

Elop said Nokia had sold more than 2 million Windows-based Lumia phones in the first quarter

and that it had a “clear sense of urgency to move our strategy forward even faster.”

In 2011, Nokia announced more than 10,000 layoffs to lower expenses and has not ruled out

more cutbacks. The company has said it would not provide annual targets for 2012 since it was

in a “year of transition.”

Nokia stock has fallen by half since Elop announced the deal with Microsoft, and it dropped to a

15-year low of €2.98 earlier this week after Moody’s ratings agency downgraded its debt grade

to near junk status.

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DEVICES & SERVICES, EUR million(unaudited)

 

Reported 1-

3/2012

Special items & PPA 1-3/2012

Non-IFRS

1-3/2012

Reported 1-

3/2011

Special items & PPA 1-3/2011

Non-IFRS

1-3/2011

         Net sales 1) 4,246 - 4,246 7,087 1 7,088Cost of sales -3,211 - -3,211 -5,048 - -5,048         Gross profit 1,035 - 1,035 2,039 1 2,040 % of net sales 24.4 24.4 28.8 28.8         Research and development expenses 2) -536 1 -535 -690 3 -687 % of net sales 12.6 12.6 9.7 9.7         Selling and marketing expenses -492 - -492 -534 - -534 % of net sales 11.6 11.6 7.5 7.5         Administrative and general expenses -96 - -96 -101 - -101 % of net sales 2.3 2.3 1.4 1.4         Other income and expenses 3) -130 91 -39 15 - 15         Operating loss/profit -219 92 -127 729 4 733 % of net sales -5.2   -3.0 10.3   10.3

1) Deferred revenue related to acquisitions of EUR 1 million in Q1/11.

2) Amortization of acquired intangible assets of EUR 1 million in Q1/12 and EUR 3 million in Q1/11.

3) Restructuring charges of EUR 91 million in Q1/12.

The following table sets forth the net sales for the Devices & Services business for the periods

indicated, as well as the year-on-year and sequential growth rates, by geographic area.

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Devices & Services Net Sales by Geographic Area

EUR million Q1 2012 Q1 2011 YoY Change

(in %)

Q4 2011 QoQ Change

(in %)

Europe 1,352 2,082 -35 1,922 -30

Middle East & Africa 737 1,088 -32 1,065 -31

Greater China 577 1,902 -70 1,008 -43

Asia Pacific 945 1,317 -28 1,297 -27

North America 93 140 -34 53 75

Latin America 542 558 -3 652 -17

Total 4,246 7,087 -40 5,997 -29

Q1 2012 Q1 20110

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Europe Middle East & AfricaGreater ChinaAsia PacificNorth AmericaLatin America

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On a year-on-year basis Devices & Services net sales in the first quarter 2012 declined in all

regions, particularly in China, primarily due to competitive industry dynamics adversely

affecting both our Mobile Phones and Smart Devices net sales. On a sequential basis, Devices &

Services net sales in the first quarter 2012 declined in all regions, except for North America,

where sales were driven by the introduction of the Nokia Lumia 710 with T-Mobile.

10 Major Markets, Net Sales; EUR Mn’s

2011 2010

China 6130 7149

India 2923 2952

Brazil 1901 1506

Russia 1843 1744

Germany 1606 2019

Japan 1539 730

USA 1405 1630

UK 996 1470

Italy 982 1266

Spain 907 1313

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China India Brazil Russia Germany Japan USA UK Italy Spain

010002000300040005000600070008000

Net Sales

2011 2010

SMART DEVICES

The following table sets forth a summary of the results for Nokia’s Smart Devices business unit

for the periods indicated, as well as the year-on-year and sequential growth rates.

SMART DEVICE RESULTS SUMMARY:

Q1 2012 Q1 2011 YoY Change (%)

Net Sales (EUR Mns) 1,704 3,528 -52

Smart Device Volume (Mns Units) 11.9 24.2 -51

Smart Device Average Selling Price-

ASP (EUR)

143 146 -2

Gross Margin (%) 15.6 28.9

Operating Expenses (EUR Mns) 556 834 -33

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Contribution Margin (%) -18.3 5.3

The year-on-year and sequential decreases in operating expenses resulted from the proportionate

allocation of operating expenses being impacted by the relative mix of sales and gross profit

performance between Mobile Phones and Smart Devices, resulting in lower relative allocations

to Smart Devices in the first quarter 2012.

The year-on-year decline in Smart Devices net sales in the first quarter 2012 was primarily due

to significantly lower Symbian volumes. On a sequential basis, the decline in the Smart Devices

net sales in the first quarter 2012 was also due to partial offset by growing sales of Nokia Lumia

devices.

MOBILE PHONES

The following table sets forth a summary of the results for Nokia’s Mobile Phones business unit

for the periods indicated, as well as the year-on-year and sequential growth rates.

Q1 2012 Q1 2011 YoY Change (%)

Net Sales (EUR Mns) 2,311 3,407 -32

Smart Device Volume (Mns Units) 70.8 84.3 -16

Smart Device Average Selling Price-

ASP (EUR)

33 40 -18

Gross Margin (%) 25.9 27.9

Operating Expenses (EUR Mns) 472 387 22

Contribution Margin (%) 4.6 16.5

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On a year-on-year basis, the Mobile Phones net sales in the first quarter 2012 decreased due to

the lower ASP and volumes. On a sequential basis, the decline in Mobile Phones net sales in the

first quarter 2012 was due to lower volumes.

First Quarter 2012 Operating Highlights

Devices & Services Operating Highlights

Net sales were 4.2 billion Euro, down 29 percent sequentially and down 40 percent year

over year

Non-IFRS gross margin in Q1 was 24.4 percent, down 140 basis points sequentially

primarily driven by a lower gross margin both in Smart Devices and Mobile Phones,

partially offset by an increase in Devices & Services Other gross profit

Non-IFRS OPEX was 1.1 billion Euro, down approximately 140 million Euro on a

sequential basis

Non-IFRS operating margin was negative 3.0 percent in Q1, down 790 basis points on a

sequential basis

SMART DEVICES

Nokia has continued to expand the breadth and depth of its Lumia range of Windows Phone-

based smartphones since their debut in November 2011. Consumers in 45 markets around the

world can now purchase a Lumia smartphone, with more markets being added in the coming

weeks and months. Key highlights in the growth of Lumia in the first quarter included:

In January, Nokia and T-Mobile commenced sales of the Nokia Lumia 710, the first

Lumia product for the United States.

In January, Nokia announced the Nokia Lumia 900 with AT&T in the United States. The

Lumia 900 is the first of Nokia's Windows Phone-based range to feature high-speed LTE

connectivity. The device, which has a 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack Display, went on

sale in April.

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In February, at the 2012 Mobile World Congress, Nokia announced that it is bringing the

Nokia Lumia 900 to other markets outside the United States in a DC-HSPA variant, for

high speed data connection (42Mbits download) in countries where LTE is not available.

The device is expected to begin shipping during the second quarter.

In February, Nokia announced the Nokia Lumia 610, the company’s fourth and most

affordable Lumia smartphone, designed as the perfect introduction to Windows Phone for

a younger audience. The device is expected to ship during the second quarter 2012.

In February, Nokia announced Nokia Reading, providing a single, integrated reading hub

experience. Nokia Reading makes it easier and faster to enjoy news, books, and audio

books including an extensive catalogue of local language reading material and the ability

to access content offline.

In March, Nokia and China Telecom announced the Nokia 800C, the first CDMA

Windows Phone in China and Nokia's first Lumia phone for the world's largest

smartphone market. The device went on sale in early April.

In February, Nokia announced the Nokia 808 PureView, the first smartphone to feature

Nokia PureView imaging technologies, bringing together high resolution sensors, exclusive

Carl Zeiss optics and Nokia-developed algorithms, which will support new high-end imaging

experiences for future Nokia products. The Nokia 808 PureView features a large, high-

resolution 41 megapixel sensor and new pixel oversampling technology. The device is

expected to ship during the second quarter 2012.

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MOBILE PHONES

Nokia has continued to expand the breadth and depth of its Asha family of feature phones since

their debut in late 2011. Consumers in more than 100 markets around the world can now

purchase an Asha device. Key highlights in the growth of the Asha family in the first quarter

included:

In February, Nokia announced the Nokia Asha 302, the first Series 40-based phone to

support Mail for Exchange. The Asha 302 went on sale during the first quarter.

In February, Nokia announced the Nokia Asha 202, which combines a traditional keypad

with a touch screen and features Nokia’s dual SIM Easy Swap technology. The Asha 202

is expected to ship during the second quarter 2012.

In February, Nokia announced the Asha 203, a single SIM phone which combines a

traditional keypad with a touch screen. The Asha 203 is expected to ship during the

second quarter 2012.

Nokia announced an evolution of Nokia Life Tools, now known as Nokia Life, which provides

life-enhancing information across the range of Nokia Series 30 and Series 40 products. Since its

2009 launch in India, the SMS-based service has expanded to China, Indonesia and Nigeria. To

date, more than 50 million people have experienced its benefits.

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Nokia Browser, Nokia's cloud-accelerated browser for Series 40 devices, continued to grow

rapidly with support for 38 devices in 87 languages and more than 200 countries. During the first

quarter, they released a significant upgrade to the product improving speed and access to web

apps. Nokia Browser is the first of its kind to support web apps, and since the release of the SDK

in 2011, developer support has continued to grow.

Nokia Personnel by Geographic Area

10 major countries,

personnel, Dec 31

2011 2010

India 22,279 22,734

China 22,165 20,668

Finland 16,970 19,841

Brazil 11,887 10,925

Germany 10,992 11,243

USA 7,980 7,415

Hungary 5,198 5,931

UK 3,237 3,859

Poland 2,541 2,122

Mexico 1,970 2,554

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2011 20100

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

IndiaChinaFinlandBrazilGermany USAHungaryUKPolandMexico

31.03.12 31.03.11 31.12.11

Europe 47,812 -11 53,727 49,255Middle-East & Africa 4,641 -3 4,794 5,062Greater China 22,292 6 21,054 22,568Asia-Pacific 28,163 -2 28,819 29,595North America 8,181 5 7,825 8,443Latin America 11,059 -25 14,732 15,127

Y-o-Y change,

%

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Europe21%

Middle-East & Africa6%

Greater China12%

Asia-Pacific4%North America

10%

Latin America 48%

YoY change (%)

SEGMENT INFORMATION

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First quarter 2012, reported, EUR million(unaudited)

Smart Devices 1/3/2012

Mobile Phones 1/3/2012

Devices & Services other

1/3/2012

Devices & Services 1/3/2012

Net sales 1,704 2,311 231 4,246Cost of sales -1,438 -1,712 -61 -3,211Gross profit 266 599 170 1,035% of net sales 15.6 25.9 73.6 24.4

Operating expenses -556 -472 -96 -1,124

Other income and expenses -22 -20 -88 -130

Contribution -312 107 -14% of net sales -18.3 4.6 -6.1

Operating loss -219% of net sales -5.2

Marketing Strategy of Nokia

Mobile phone market in India is going through major changes. Key players are losing market

share while new and young companies, mostly from Asian countries, are coming to the market.

At the same time the market is slowly expanding when people are buying more phones than ever.

The whole process of buying mobile phones has changed in the last few years. People no longer

carry the same phone year in year out, change is the fast technological development of the

phones. But also consumer’s but they change their phone every year, some even twice a year.

One reason for these attitudes towards mobile phones has changed. Mobile phones are no longer

seen as expensive, hi-tech products, but they have become accessories like jewellery or a piece

of clothing. Here we can mention about Nokia the world’s number one mobile phone company

and this discussion is going through about this company.

Marketing Strategy Adopted

A world leader in mobile communications, Nokia has established itself as the dominant or most

used mobile telephone set in India by virtue of its vast experience, innovation, and user-

friendliness.

Leading edge products; leading technology and design till 2009

Best quality products; best care network

Variety of choice to meet every price segment

Good distribution network

Strong relationship with channel partners

Leading player in networks with business relationship with all leading GSM

operators

Nokia Care – Delighting the customers – Widest care network

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Presence across 408 cities

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Nokia India

National Distributor

Redistribution Stockists

(RDS)

Retail outlets

National Distributor

Consumer

560 Nokia Care Centers with 25 hi-tech facilities – 18*7 access to Nokia care

line

From 600 + cities with single number

Multilingual support – 6 languages.

Distribution Channels

HCL Infosystem: During the last ten years, the HCL-Nokia relationship has

witnessed strong growth in the Indian GSM handset market resulting in a

significant market share gain for Nokia.

Bright point: It offers the most comprehensive selection of brands and products

in the wireless industry. Handset, Integrated devices, PDAs, etc. They also provide

full selection of OEM and aftermarket accessories, Modems and software. It

distributes product manufactured by the world’s leading handset manufacturer.

Retail Execution

Strong Leadership across major segments

Co- branding

Localized manufacturing

Constituted by Nokia manufacturing unit and co-located vendor/supplier units

Retailing

Nokia Priority Partners

Recycle point

Largest organized chain amongst handset manufactures

Presence amongst 255+ towns

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Superior buying experience to consumers

Nokia Concept Store

Destination for evolved replacement consumer

Nokia VAN operations

A special purpose van --- “Showroom on Wheels” operational across the country

Consistent brand experience and full range of products including live

demonstration

Glocalization – Maintaining the brand logo, the key message and the underlying

philosophy and localizing the brand elements to offer customers an authentic local feel.

Category creation - Creating and riding growth in mobile convergence

Smartphones

Mobile imaging

Mobile Gaming

The network services

Widest customers care network

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408 cities, 560 centres

18*7 access

From 600 + cities

Multilingual support

Building the Brand

Another crucial aspect of Nokia's investment strategy focused on building its brand. Here, the

company ran into a problem. The Nokia range available in India extends from Rs 1,499 ($37) at

the lower end to Rs 45,000 ($1,125) at the high end. Marketing theory says a brand cannot be all

things to all people. This is the reason that Hindustan Unilever, with quality built around its

brand, refused to match Nirma, which came out with a cheap detergent. This is also why

Eveready, the battery manufacturer, refused to lower prices when faced with a Chinese

challenger in the dry cell market.

But Nokia has a problem promoting other brands under its corporate umbrella. "Unlike the

FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) market -- where the product lifecycle is at least 10 and

sometimes 50-100 years -- models have a lifespan of 15-24 months here," says Devinder

Kishore, Nokia India's director of marketing. With such a lifecycle, promoting various models

would mean watching money go down the drain in a couple of years.

Instead, Nokia is promoting platforms -- music, for instance. With this approach, one model can

replace another while the branding remains the same, or is extended slightly with the E series

and N series. "Nokia has done well to focus on the 'mother' brand rather than on 'another' brand,"

says Jagdeep Kapoor, chairman and managing director of Samsika Marketing Consultants.

Kapoor, who has written several books on brand management, says that Nokia has understood

the Indian market by straddling all segments: the high, the middle and the low end. "The

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company has created a ladder for consumers to climb from the low end to the middle end to the

high end, while being fully assured that they will be with the mother brand Nokia."

Kapoor views the Nokia brand in terms of his proprietary "REAPS" model, which takes into

account five needs -- rational, emotional, aspirational, physical and spiritual -- of the Indian

consumer. "Nokia as a brand has been able to address all the five needs to various degrees at

various stages," he says. "The rational need of quality versus price has been met across price

segments with options. The emotional need of being able to keep in touch with near and dear

ones during times of joy and sorrow is being adequately fulfilled. The aspirational need with the

new models and features and the look-good approach has helped the brand become a sought-

after, must-have brand. The physical need has been taken care of through size and comfort. And,

finally, the spiritual need has been met through (local) languages and people --whether they are

18 or 80 -- being able to greet one another via SMS [text messages] during religious festivals."

Nokia using Microfinance to sell Phones in Rural India

Nokia is looking to extend a pilot scheme that has been operating in 2,500 villages in the

southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to make its mobile phones more affordable to

rural Indians.

The company, which accounts for about half of all mobile handsets sold in India, has been

using microfinance schemes to allow poor villagers to buy its products. A microfinance

organization has bought handsets from Nokia and sold them to women in rural villages by

charging them Rs 100 or about US$2 a week for as long as 25 weeks.

Strategic tie-up with Bharti Airtel:

August 13, 2009, Colombo. Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, Asia's

leading integrated telecom services provider, today announced that it had entered into an

exclusive agreement with Nokia, wherein customers who purchase Nokia handsets can look

forward to receiving a value rich Airtel Handset Bundle Offer. 

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Bharti Airtel Limited has awarded Nokia an estimated USD 400 million contract to expand its

managed GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks in eight Airtel circles and deploy a pan Indian WAP

solution across its networks.

As per the three- year contract, Nokia will provide managed services and expand Airtel networks

to cover all towns and cities in the eight telecom circles of Mumbai, Maharashtra and Goa,

Gujarat, Bihar (including Jharkhand), Orissa, Kolkata, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh

(including Chhattisgarh). The network monitoring operations will be carried out from Nokia’s

state-of-the-art Global Networks Solutions Centre in Chennai.

Nokia will deploy the latest radio and core network equipment including Nokia MSC Server

System (MSS) mobile soft switch, Nokia Flexi WCDMA and ultrasite base stations, and provide

services based on Bharati’s capacity requirements, delivering cost-efficient rollout of on-demand

capacity. The contract also has stringent service level agreements and performance metrics for

both parties, which are designed to provide consistently high-quality services to subscribers and

continuously enhance the user experience.

Nokia, RCom tie-up for premium content

23/2/2011 Nokia launched the India chapter of Ovi Store by announcing a strategic tie-up with

Reliance Communications (RCom) in Mumbai.

Under the tie-up, RCom subscribers will be the first to get access to 17,000 pieces of premium-

range content that includes applications and rich content downloads. The users will be charged

for the premium content through integrated billing or the amount will get deducted from prepaid

balance.

According to V Ramnath, Nokia India’s director – Operator Channels, the first chapter of Indian

telecom industry has got over now and the second chapter has begun with the 3G.

“3G will help India to leapfrog into the digital age through Internet, and 3G will provide critical

services that will explode in form of rich content, games, videos, Web and application

downloads, which will bring more opportunities in India,” said Ramnath.

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Commenting on Nokia’s Ovi Store India chapter, Ramnath explained that India chapter has

begun with a partnership with Reliance Communications, where the users can download

premium content and pay the charge through integrated bills.

Currently, Nokia handset users in India can download premium content from the Ovi Store but

need to have international credit cards or pay in Euros. Nokia Ovi Store is available across 190-

plus countries in 32 languages with the support of 135 devices working on Symbian platform.

Ramnath informed that over 4.5 million downloads happen per week in India and added the

FICCI estimates around 90 million downloads by 2030 with a revenue generation close to $15

million.

However, the tie-up will allow RCom subscribers to get access to premium content and

download it and also pay in Indian currency at lower price.

“The focus is to deliver top quality customer experience through local and global content with a

range of applications (apps), exclusive and rich premium content in Hindi and English through

simple and transparent tariff rates,” said Prashant Gokarn, Reliance Communications’ 3G head.

“Consumers will get SMS or email alerts for the confirmation of apps download. They can

access free trials before downloading the app or service and they will not need credit cards for

payments as it will be directly charged with integrated bills,” added Gokarn. He also informed

that the pricing of premium content would range between Rs.25 and Rs.500.

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Nokia Brings Mobile Money Client to All Nokia Devices in India

Nokia is now planning to insert the Mobile Money client in all the Nokia devices in India. The

client will provide a gateway to financial services (via mobile phones) to anyone without a bank

account or access to a financial institution.

Nokia Money (mobile financial services) is already live in India through partnerships with Union

Bank of India (UBI), Yes Bank, Obopay and other merchants, retailers and business

correspondents. The services branded as Union Bank Money (from UBI) and Mobile Money

services by Yes Bank are already available in some regions in India and will be introduced in

more locations in the coming months.

The application can be activated at Nokia retail and other outlets (which are also authorized

banking correspondents of Yes Bank and/or Union Bank of India) and with the application,

consumers can subscribe to Union Bank Money or YES Bank Mobile Money services from their

Nokia devices.

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“Mobile Money services eliminate dependence on the physical presence of a branch or

availability of internet banking services. Embedding the Money client in the Nokia devices going

forward further makes the service ubiquitous and accessible for consumers across categories. We

believe our partnerships with Yes Bank and Union Bank of India will help us connect the

unbanked population in the country,” said Gary Singh, General Manager, Nokia Mobile Payment

Services according to The Mobile Indian.

The Money App is integrated with the phone and its services, hence making money transfer as

simple as sending an SMS. The service allows users access to financial services like bank

account management, bill payments, money transfer, cash withdrawal from cash-out outlets

(registered Nokia stores) and ATMs and mobile phone recharges.

People who already have Nokia mobile phones can go to a Nokia Money agent and get the

application loaded onto their phones or they can use the service via text messages which do not

require the client. The Mobile Money client will be available on high end Symbian S60^3

devices, Anna devices, Series 40 feature phones and Series 30 Nokia mobile phones.

The success of the Mobile Money client will largely depend on the reach of the service in the

country and the strategic tie-ups of Nokia with other banks as well. Additionally, with the

growing popularity of Android and iOS operating system and the shrinking market share of

Nokia, we will have to wait and watch how lucrative the service actually is to the end customers.

Nokia and Microsoft sign strategic tie-up

Friday, 11 February 2011

Microsoft-Nokia Partnership -- Under the proposed partnership:

• Nokia would adopt Windows Phone as its principal smartphone strategy, innovating on top of

the platform in areas such as imaging, where Nokia is a market leader.

• Nokia would help drive the future of Windows Phone. Nokia would contribute its expertise on

hardware design, language support, and help bring Windows Phone to a larger range of price

points, market segments and geographies.

• Nokia and Microsoft would closely collaborate on joint marketing initiatives and a shared

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development roadmap to align on the future evolution of mobile products.

• Bing would power Nokia’s search services across Nokia devices and services, giving

customers access to Bing’s next generation search capabilities. Microsoft adCenter would

provide search advertising services on Nokia’s line of devices and services.

• Nokia Maps would be a core part of Microsoft’s mapping services. For example, Maps would

be integrated with Microsoft’s Bing search engine and adCenter advertising platform to form a

unique local search and advertising experience

• Nokia’s extensive operator billing agreements would make it easier for consumers to purchase

Nokia Windows Phone services in countries where credit-card use is low.

• Microsoft development tools would be used to create applications to run on Nokia Windows

Phones, allowing developers to easily leverage the ecosystem’s global reach.

• Nokia’s content and application store would be integrated with Microsoft Marketplace for a

more compelling consumer experience.

Well, undoubtedly the biggest winner is Microsoft. Not only does this move mean that it will

inevitably make significant gains in Windows Phone market share, it’s also managed to eliminate

Nokia’s Symbian OS as a competitor. Also, it’s managed to win over an OEM and get them to

effectively dump their own established ecosystem in favor of its embryonic ecosystem.

Microsoft also gets its hands on Nokia’s Ovi/NAVTEQ mapping assets. Given the number of

times this was mentioned at live event, I think that this is what Microsoft wanted more than

anything. No word on how this will fit into the WP ecosystem - will the technology be licensed

to other handset OEMs?

What about Nokia? Is it a winner or a loser? Well, the company is fighting for survival, and this

deal no doubt guarantees its survival for now. But it’s hard to see how in the long term Nokia can

do much to differentiate itself from other OEMs. Sure, Nokia makes some good, solid hardware,

but it’s this good solid hardware (over-engineering some might say) that got the company into

the mess it’s in. Today Nokia truly becomes just another Microsoft OEM. The company has

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managed to gain more freedoms than other WP OEMs (more on that in a moment), but another

OEM it is nonetheless.

It’s definitely a bad day for Nokia employees. There were strong suggestions that this move

would mean job losses at Nokia.

It’s also a bad day for Google. “Why Google?” you might ask. Because in choosing a new

platform for its products, Nokia went with Microsoft’s WP platform rather than Google’s

Android platform. Nokia’s reasoning behind going with WP over Android is that it felt that

going with Android meant that it would “one of many” and that value was being moved from

Nokia to Google.

It could also be a bad day for other Windows Phone OEMs. During today’s Financial and

Strategy briefing, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said that the company had a “unique relationship”

with Microsoft, and that the deal was “not your mother’s OEM deal with Microsoft” and that the

deal also allowed Nokia to differentiate itself from other OEMs. Elop said that no details of this

deal would be released, but all this talk of a cozy relationship between Microsoft and Nokia

must make other OEMs uncomfortable. Nokia has already talked a lot about creating

differentiation within the WP ecosystem and come up with unique hardware and services that

will only be seen on Nokia handsets. Elop even suggested that Nokia had the power to change

the WP UI to suit its needs, something that no other OEM can do. 

Conclusion

Nokia being in a competitive market held the market as a monopoly with its unique

identity, Marketing Strategy and distribution policy. Through the Ease-of-use concept, it had

added a lot to Customer Value, which further helps Nokia in capturing the market share in India.

Conclusion and Recommendation

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The aim of the study is to critically analyze Nokia’s marketing strategy in India and to examine

the effect on its sales. For this purpose secondary sources were used to collect the information

of marketing strategies.

The conclusions that could be drawn were, the main drivers of sales of Nokia are the product

features. The marketing strategy though aggressive and very customer specific was not the

prime force towards the sales. The prices of Nokia phones are competitive but they are not the

price leaders. And having a strong distributive network had a played a role of icing on cake.

There is need for Nokia to differentiate itself from the past. This should be done by becoming

more customer-friendly to the Asian markets. Nokia should project itself more aggressively to

the low end, mass market with its low range (but hi-quality) products. There is also a need to

develop a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) phone for its high range customers. Over the time,

quality has been Nokia’s success factor. They have developed a brand name, and the

consumers have a high brand preference. There is need to in-cash on this by continuing to

launch the good quality products. The major drawback was not up to the mark after-sales

customer services.

The key strategy that can be suggested is to maintain its leadership with reasonably quality

driven, low end products for the mass market. Considering the future, this will be wise

investment. With this they can bank upon the brand preference and increase the margin

instead of sales.

Another aspect that can be considered is the balancing act between market share and profit

margin. Right now, Nokia is in position to take advantage of their brand name and may change

their strategies to increase the profit margins. As the other companies are gaining on market

share, this could be the solution to Nokia’s problem.

Nokia Stores in Chennai

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There are 13 Nokia priority centers in Chennai and 1 Nokia Concept Store in Chennai

Rocky Marketing# 32/10,T.V.K. Road,Royapettah, RoyapettahChennai, 600014Tel:  9884478290Mob:  9884478290

MatrixShop No.3 & 4,Venkat Narayana RoadChennai, 600017Tel:  04442070330Mob:  9884185015

Aikon CommunicationsShop No. A-10,Gemini Parsn Complex, No.1, Kodambakkam High Road, NugambakkamChennai, 600006Tel:  044-42070733Mob:  9884019222

AsterixShop No:54,1st Avenue, 100 ft Road, Ashok Nagar, Next To Prabha Tvs Showroom

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Chennai, 600083Tel:  42029656Mob:  9952984556

Cell Point# 28, Gst Road, Pallavaram, Near Traffic SignalChennai, 600044Tel:  04442076692Mob:  9840331152

Sai Guru Communications101, Majestic Tower, Eldams Road, TeynampetChennai, 600018Tel:  04445000300Mob:  9884019222

Rekha Department StoreNo. 138 (Old No. 102,Usman Road,T.Nagar, Next To Old Grp OfficeChennai, 600017Tel:  044-42071178Mob:  9884012551

Munoth Industries(Head Office)S 239, Whites Road, 2Nd Floor, Spencers Plaza,Stage 3Chennai, 600002Tel:  044-64620602Mob:  9840326233

Munoth Iindustries Ltd-215/16, Dr. Nair Road, Pondy Bazar, T Nagar, Next Idbi BackChennai, 600017Tel:  044-64620604Mob:  9841777050

Munoth Industries Ltd-3Shop No. 12, Door No. 123 To 125A, Bricklin Road.,Arihant Vaikunth Cmp, PurasawalkamChennai, 600007Tel:  044-64620603Mob:  9840308208

Rocky AgenciesNo. 26/55,Kamaraj Avenue,1St. 3Rd Cross Street, AdyarChennai, 600020Tel:  9884940001

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Mob:  9884940001

Munoth Industries Ltd(Express Avenue)Shop No. S-239,2Nd Floor, Main Atrium Express Avenue, Whites Road, RoyapettahChennai, 600014Tel:  044-64620602Mob:  9840326233

Sayar SystemsNo 1/3,Balakrishna Mudali Street, Arya Gowda Road, WestmamblamChennai, 600033Tel:  044-65445655Mob:  9840187575

NOKIA CONCEPT STORE550/136,Ttk Road,Hallmark T Sriram Nagar, AlwarpetChennai, 600018Tel:  9884207362Mob:  9884207362

References & Bibliography

The Marketing White Book (2011-12) Business World Product Management in India (Third edition) – Ramanuj Majumdar http://www.nokia.com/in-en/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nokia_products http://mobigyaan.com/

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http://www.indiaretailing.com/nokia-concept-store.asp http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_20431976/nokia-posts-1-2-bln-loss-q1-sales http://www.cmrindia.com/press_releases/

india_monthly_mobile_phones_market_review_for_cy_2011.asp http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4220 http://www.casestudyinc.com/nokia-strategy-india http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Business%20Strategy/BSTR174.htm http://itcomweek.com/news/nokia-rcom-tie-up-for-premium-content.html http://nvonews.com/2012/04/25/windows-8-tablet-vs-ipad-3-tim-cook-says-windows-8-

may-fail/ http://www.google.co.in/

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