Nokia to Close More Stores, This Time in the US

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Following to last week’s news that Nokia is trying to revamp their sales by closing down their flagship store on Regent Street in London (how bizarre isn’t it?), it looks like the Finnish manufacturer is going to do the same with their stores in Chicago and New York, as the company confirmed today that the two retail stores are about to close gates sometime early next year.

Considering Nokia’s fragmentary market presence in the US where over 90 percent of consumer purchases are made through mobile carriers, and the fact that the company is not doing so well against the iPhone, RIM’s BlackBerry, the new Motorola Droid and the whole bunch of appealing smartphones that pop out every day, it’s only “sane” that the company comes up with better ways to market their handsets. After all they’ve done a great job so far as “consumer awareness in the US has grown substantially”. It’s time for numbers, isn’t it?

Check out Nokia’s full statement below:

“In North America, over 90 percent of consumer purchases are made through carriers – Nokia continues to support our relationship with carriers in this market, as well as the continued expansion of our retail partner network with the likes of Amazon and Best Buy (for example), in line with our strategy. As we continue to expand our services and solutions offerings across these various channels, we have decided to close the NY and Chicago stores to allow more concentration on our other channels.

The Flagship stores were originally conceived to inspire and educate consumers to the benefits of mobility through an innovative retail experience, and to broaden the appeal of the Nokia brand. Since opening the stores in NY and Chicago (2006), consumer awareness in the U.S. has grown substantially. Weighing those dynamics with Nokia’s clear strategy in North America, and our well-established retail channel with third parties, we will close these two stores (New York and Chicago) in early 2010.

This decision was made to create clear alignment with our local market strategy and, in addition, as part of a global realignment of our retail strategy in overall.”