News Topic: NOKIA Nokia
Beijing time, early morning of May 3rd – Nokia Chairman Jorma Ollila revealed that the company will launch a series of tablets and 'hybrid' smart devices in an effort to reverse the unfavorable situation in its mobile phone business. Ollila stated that Nokia is expected to reverse the downward trend in sales and profits with exciting products and services.
Nokia Chairman Jorma Ollila
After becoming Nokia CEO in 1992, Ollila took ten years to transform Nokia from a struggling Finnish industrial group into the world's number one smartphone manufacturer, with market value skyrocketing from €650 million (approximately $850 million) to €300 billion.
However, since 2008, the company has once again encountered difficulties, failing to make an impact in the smartphone market. It faces competition from Apple and Samsung in the high-end market and challenges from Asian manufacturers in the low-end market.
Last month, Samsung became the world's largest smartphone manufacturer, ending Nokia's 14-year dominance.
Ollila admitted that Nokia reacted too slowly to the smartphone revolution, even though the company had recognized this important trend as early as 2006. But he also stated that the combination of new products and services would turn the situation around, and the company's new products would fully seize opportunities.
"Tablets are important products, so we will focus on this market, and there will be different hybrids and forms in the future," Ollila said.
Ollila supported Stephen Elop's decision to cooperate with Microsoft in producing smartphones, which was Elop's first strategic decision since becoming Nokia CEO. However, Nokia's Windows Phone has performed modestly so far and has not posed a threat to the dominant positions of Apple and Samsung.
Yet Ollila said, 'I am very satisfied with the current situation. If competitors are strong, it takes some time.'
'It has been four years since mid-2008, and returns seem to have fallen short of expectations. The company understands this and has generally accepted the reality, but at that time we did not have the capability for software development, especially for platform software development,' he said. 'Competitors responded faster and launched products more quickly.'
Article/Sina Technology
*Content source of this post: cnBeat*
