Nokia lost 8-10% market share in India over the course of a year
By Stefan Constantinescu on Sunday, February 18th, 2007 at 9:42 PM PST In Financial/Corporate News
The GSM handset market is growing at such a scorching pace that even with a 100% growth in volumes, the market leader and dominant player, Nokia (NYSE: NOK), has seen a dip in market share in the last one year. Nokia’s market share in the GSM handset market in terms of units sold has come off its highs at 78-80% in end December 2005 to around 70% at the end of December 2006.
In the same period, Motorola (NYSE: MOT) has gained from 5% to 15% while Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) has gained to around 8%, according to ORG-GFK figures. The other players in the handsets segment include Samsung, LG, Philips, Panasonic (NYSE: PC), Bird, Sagem and Benq.
Nokia has for long dominated the handsets segment and this is probably among the few industry segments where the market leader has had such a huge market share.
When contacted a Nokia spokesperson said it is not company policy to comment on market share but added: “Nokia’s leadership in India is a testimony of its ability to offer products that are relevant to customers, with a fine balance of technology and design to meet their lifestyle and budget needs.
It is this balance that has allowed Nokia to achieve long term profitable growth over the last decade of its operations in India. As the Indian market evolves we will continue to offer products that are relevant and customised to local needs to maintain our market leadership in India.â€
Source: Economic Times
What’s going on down there?
Well, I think that was probably something even Nokia expected to happen. It is almost impossible for any brand to maintain a 70-80% market share in a market that is evolving fast, first time users are becoming second and third time users, and where the competition has (pretty) good products to offer too. Even iPod will eventually lose its huge market share globally, perhaps most thanks to cell phone makers like Nokia!