The times are tough for Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V), and unfortunately it looks like things will not get better for them anytime soon (although its good news for some Tiger cubs and Kase Capital).
Nokia gave ZDNet the official confirmation of the world’s largest store closure in China.
Brett Young, a representative for Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V), explained, “Nokia is focusing on growing its presence in operator and third-party retail outlets, rather than through our own physical stores. We are, of course, also continuously beefing up our online presence. With this in mind, our store in Shanghai was closed on 31 March.”
This report finally confirms what the local media has been reporting for a few days: that Nokia posted a sign on a closed door at the largest store in Shanghai. Shoppers were then directed to the Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) Experience store on Fuzhou Road.
The Shanghai store, which originally opened in 2007, was vacated when recently photographed by Xinhua, the official news bureau for China.
Nokia’s sales are on a serious decline in China and the transition from Symbian to Windows certainly didn’t help. The company’s overall device and service sales decreased from $1 billion in the 2011 4th quarter 2011)to $213 million compared to the same quarter in 2012. Despite the significant financial loss, China is still an important market for the Finnish tech company.
In late 2012, China Mobile started carrying the Lumia 920T, a smartphone that was designed specifically for Chinese tech consumers. The company is also targeting their entire Asha line of smartphones to China phone shoppers.
China isn’t the only market in which Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) is struggling. The company has been selling back some of their property in Espoo, Finland.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) (BIT:NOK1V) (HEL:NOK1V) is failing where competitors like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) are succeeding. Apple is adding more stores in China. Right now they have three retail stores in China, three in Beijing, one in Shenzen, and one in Chengdu.
Nokia’s presence in the market seems to be waning and the end may be near for the company.
