Apparently, the cellphone market in Japan is rough these days, with the market quite oversaturated and competition really rough, and Nokia agrees, it seems, based on their recent business move.
Nokia has just announced that it will stop selling phones in Japan altogether, effective immediately. That includes any and all marketing, which will cease. It marks one of the first times ever a major cellphone company has pulled out of a major market.
The reason, according to Nokia top brass, is because continued investment in custom Japanese handsets is “no longer sustainable” and plans on continuing with global R&D before investing in any other markets. Sounds smart with the economic climate as unstable as it is, actually.
Despite pulling out of the local cellphone business, however, Nokia’s global R&D and sourcing operations in Japan will continue, for some reason. And what about Vertu? Fans of Nokia’s mobile phone brand won’t be facing any problems, as it will remain alive and functioning.
This is bad news for Nokia, but it’s even worse for its competitor, many of who have a smaller market share than Nokia does. If Nokia can’t make it there, then who can really? Apple maybe? That’s about all I can think of who could eke out a really good niche there. Stay tuned, as this news could have ripples in the phone market all over Japan.
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