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PC Magazine notes that Nokia is planning to open stores in the US. A “flagship store” will be opened in Chicago on June 21, with a New York store in the “Fifth Avenue region” opening before the end of 2006. Both stores will sell phones not available directly through US carriers.
The stores will sell Nokia’s full North American product lines, including high-end Nseries phones.
This is a turning point in phone retailing in North America. Cell phone manufacturers in the US generally don’t sell direct – the vast majority of phones are sold through carriers’ stores and “indirect dealers” like Amazon, Wirefly, and CompUSA, where they’re heavily discounted and bundled with service plans.
Nokia has dabbled with direct sales in the past through its Web site, but they’re getting more aggressive now. They’ve already sold their 7300-series fashion phones through unusual channels at Nieman-Marcus and Bloomingdales department stores, and the N90 cameraphone was sold at Ritz Camera. They’re now going to sell more phones through more independent dealers, and open their own branded stores.
According to a report in the Chicago Tribune last October, the store will take up 3,500 square feet at 545 N. Michigan Avenue (location is not confirmed from Nokia).
Author of the article concludes that such store worked for Apple, why shouldn’t it work for Nokia. And… I agree. 
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
