BNW

B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News

Nokia Admits Market Share Dip Nokia, the world's largest producer of mobile phones, on Monday admitted its market share in the first quarter fell to 32 per cent - an even sharper decline than it had previously indicated. But the company insisted it had not given up its long-term target of gaining 40 per cent of the global handset market. Jorma Ollila, chief executive of the Finland-based group, said 40 per cent remained "a very good target", although several analysts were sceptical of Nokia's ability to claw its way back quickly after misjudging handset trends amid increased competition. At the time of Nokia's first-quarter results in April the company estimated its market share at about 35 per cent, down from 38 per cent for the whole of 2003. Following a reassessment of the total market size, Matti Alahuhta, executive vice-president, on Monday accepted the fall had been sharper than previously indicated. Mr Alahuhta stressed Nokia was still as big as the second and third-largest suppliers put together. According to Nokia, Motorola of the US had 18 per cent of the market and Samsung of South Korea, 14 per cent. At least Nokia can hardly be accused of being gutless. It has pruned its product launch road map for the rest of the year. Encouragingly, this may offer an indication that it will not pursue its market share at any price. Nokia's own estimates remain higher than those of market researchers such as Gartner and Strategy Analytics, both of which have put Nokia below 30 per cent. Mr Alahuhta said this was because the research firms had higher estimates of the entire global market, which Nokia now believes was 141m handsets in the three months to March 31. In the second quarter Nokia has taken strong measures to stabilise its market share, cutting prices in key segments and refocusing its marketing campaigns. Evidence from some retailers indicates the decline has been arrested, but the company badly needs to find attractive products in the mid-market sector. At the presentation in Helsinki, Nokia unveiled five new handset models, three using the clam shell or fold-able format, a segment where Nokia has been slow to pick up on changing trends. Mr Ollila said the company now had a "much sharper and competitive product range". Thirty-five products will be launched this year, less than the 40 announced. Who Are We ? | About THISDAYOnLine.com | THISDAY People | Contact Us © Copyright 2000 Leaders & Company Limited

	BNW News
Voice of Biafra | Biafra World | Biafra Online | Biafra Web | MASSOB | Biafra Forum | BLM | Biafra Consortium
	© 2001 BNW BiafraNigeriaWorld  Privacy Policy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Powered by ACENetwork ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Axiom PSI Yam Festival Series, Iri Ji Nd'Igbo the Kola-Nut Series,Nigeria Masterweb