Sales of Nokia Lumia commence in Finland

Teleoperator Elisa compares advance demand for Nokia’s Windows smartphone with that for iPhone

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A man examined a mobile phone in his hand at the electronics wing of Helsinki’s Stockmann department store. He did not seem to be bothered in the least by another man who was peeking at the handset’s screen over his shoulder.
      The new Nokia Lumia seemed to interest everybody.
      Sales of Nokia’s Windows-based Lumia smartphone began in Finland yesterday. The product has widely been regarded as a watershed for Nokia’s economy: will the once-dominant Finnish mobile phone giant continue on its downward slope, or will the Lumia kick-start the company’s recovery?
      This is naturally "the domestic market", but at least the opening exchanges looked promising.
      “The first-day sales figures are almost as high as those of the iPhone. At the counter there is a continuous queue of five to ten people, and practically all the phone buyers are asking for a Lumia”, said Kimmo Rantala, sales manager of the electronics department at Stockmann.
     
Similar stories were heard from elsewhere.
      “We received a few thousands advance reservations. The figures are very close to those of Apple’s iPhone 4 and 4S”, explained subscription business director Henri Kopra from the teleoperator Elisa.
      Elisa is one of the largest retailers of mobile handsets, with a market share of just under 20 per cent.
      “Sales have started commendably. Some outlets may have run out of certain colours, but otherwise the availability is good. People seem to have faith in this product”, was the view of Petri Lahtinen, Vice President, Mobility Sales Finland at teleoperator TeliaSonera.
     
In the wider world, the Lumia models have been available since November. In connection with the announcement of its interim report last Thursday, Nokia said that in the space of three months around a million Lumias have been sold. This can be compared, for example, against the sales figures of the company’s thus-far most popular smartphone, the N95.
      When the N95 was launched, two million units were sold in the first month.
     
At Stockmann’s Lumia stand, a sales person demonstrates to a potential buyer the handset’s various features: satnav, virus protection, email, excel workbook documents, 8 Mp camera with 3x digital zoom...
      Suddenly the customer asks a shocking but admittedly pertinent question: “And ummm...how do you make a phone call?”
      Maybe that is what the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev also asked in 1987 when he was shown the Nokia Mobira Cityman, the “smartphone” of that distant time.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Nokia will soon start selling Lumia phones in Finland (11.1.2012)
  Nokia aims for “new dawn” in USA with its first 4G handset (10.1.2012)
  Nokia upbeat about takeoff of Lumia sales in the UK (23.11.2011)

See also:
  Low-cost handsets provided Nokia with a lifeline, but not necessarily a future (27.1.2012)
  Nokia Q4 result exceeds analysts´ expectations; stock up in Helsinki following announcement (26.1.2012)
  Elop expects users of other smartphones to switch to Nokia Lumia (12.1.2012)

Links:
  Nokia Lumia 800

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