Nokia looks to reclaim top spot in India

Mobile phone maker Nokia is down, but not out. The company’s India division claims it is leaving no stone unturned in trying to reclaim its top spot in the growing Indian mobile phone market.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of new phones in Nokia’s Lumia series, Viral Oza, director-marketing, Nokia India, told The Hindu about the company’s strategies, its USP and its most ambitious offering in its smartphone Lumia series – the Lumia 920.

Formerly the market leader in the Indian phone segment, Nokia was known for its feature phones in the mid- and low-budget ranges, until recently. Is it an even playing field now? “The whole approach Nokia has is to make sustained growth. For this, we have been executing on three pillars: future disruption, connecting the next billion and the partnership with Microsoft. Innovation gives us the competitive edge,” he said.

Defending its profits without divulging any numbers, he said, “In the first three quarters, Nokia has shipped more phones than any others.”

But is Nokia concentrating more on the expensive smartphone market at the cost of its feature phones?

“We are still the largest selling phone brand in India. Nokia is always invested in India. Our focus is on the consumer; to know and understand our consumer,” he said, adding that Nokia’s budget phones, such as those in the ‘Asha’ series, highlighted the “democratic benefits of technology”.

“Under the Asha range, we started offering phones at prices that couldn’t even be thought of,” he recalled.

Nokia launched new feature phone models last month, which showed that the company was not concentrating on the smartphone segment, he added.

Walking the tightrope when asked about whether the partnership with Windows Phone would be enough to tackle the huge Android market, Mr. Oza said, “Our aim is to create a third ecosystem.”