‘Connecting people’ could be an old slogan of Nokia, but the company is still following the spirit of the tagline in its branding and marketing perspectives.
HMD Global, which sells Nokia brand of phones, said that with the comeback of the Nokia brand in the market, many consumers are coming back to the brand because of the quality and simplicity of the products.
“The response we get from consumers is surprising as compared to what we thought would be possible two years back. We sold more than 70 million Nokia phones last year (globally) and it is a great sign that in addition to curiosity, there is also actual demand for the Nokia phones,” Pekka Rantala, Executive Vice-President & Chief Marketing Officer — HMD Global, told
He said that of all the Nokia smartphones that the company sold last year, more than two-thirds were sold to people under 35 years. This was a good sign as it showed that youngsters were accepting the brand, which is important for any brand in the smartphone business. “I think we are taking the right steps and are headed in the right direction. Our philosophy is not to think about competition, but work for consumers. We are in branding business and not only tech and spec business. People have relationship with this brand,” he said.
Three devices launched
With the Google’s ‘Android One’ programme, the company says it is providing better security to its users than other companies. “Our Android One programme is different from any other brand. We promise the consumers greater security. Their operating system is updated every month,” Rantala quipped. The three devices launched by the company on Wednesday — Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 plus and Nokia 6 for the Indian market — are all based on Android One. The handsets are priced at ₹49,999, ₹25,999 and ₹16,999, respectively.
The company also showcased Nokia 1, which was launched in the Indian market recently. The Android Oreo (Go)-powered device priced at ₹5,499 is targeted at entry-level smartphone buyers. The company also launched Nokia phones shop – an online shop for all its devices and accessories in the country.
The Nokia phones are being manufactured 100 per cent in India (by Foxconn at Sri City, Andhra Pradesh) and therefore, there is no impact of the latest 10 per cent import duty on printed circuit boards by the government, Rantala said.
According to research firm IDC, around 288 million mobile phones were shipped in India in 2017, with a growth of 16 per cent and smartphones grew 14 per cent in the said period.
Samsung led overall market with 24.7 per cent share in smartphone category and 20.5 per cent share in feature phone for 2017. Xiaomi followed Samsung with 20.9 per cent share, Vivo 9.4 per cent, Lenovo 7.8 per cent and Oppo 7.5 per cent share in smartphone segment in 2017.
Amidst this competition, HMD Global is targeting to be amongst the top three smartphone players in India by 2020.