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BIZCHINA / Biz Media Digest |
IT: Nokia converts margin-sapping China into profit machines(Bloomberg)
Updated: 2007-07-16 15:26 Nokia Oyj, the world's largest cell- phone maker, disappointed shareholders twice in the past three years by failing to keep up with consumer trends. This time, the company may have it right. Models such as the 550 euro ($759) N95 are paying off as customers trade up from starter phones in India and China. The shift is restoring profit margins that Chief Executive Officer Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo sacrificed last year when he focused on cheaper phones to win sales in those countries, where Nokia is the dominant brand. Nokia is touting the N95, with a dual-sliding cover, GPS navigation and a 5 megapixel camera, and the 250 euro 6300 slim phone to affluent users in Mumbai and Beijing, as well as the UK and Europe. The popularity of these handsets will help prop up Nokia's average selling prices, said analysts including Kulbinder Garcha at Credit Suisse in London. In China, Nokia's biggest market, the company's unit share was about 42 percent in the first quarter, according to Framingham, Massachusetts-based researcher IDC. |
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