Chapter 5. Global Marketing

Nokia represents a perfect example of a multinational corporation. It has eight manufacturing facilities outside Finland, they are Manaus, Brazil; Cluj, Romania; Beijing and Dongguan, China; Komárom, Hungary; Chennai, India; Reynosa, Mexico; and Masan, South Korea. It also has retail stores all over the world and conducts research in 44 countries in order to obtain information about customers behavior and feedback on latest products. No wonder it was named number one smartphone manufacturer by 2010 global sales according to IDC. 
As you notice the company has 3 plants in India and China, two countries that are soon to be mega-markets. Nokia sees a great opportunity for its business in this countries mostly due to the huge population and the cost efficient production. On the other hand it has to take in account the fact that they are also countries with very low income. Lately company introduced its line of affordable cellphones that were mostly launched in India and the third world countries.

Middle East is another market that Nokia had successfully battled in the pass and continues to provide with new mobile devices. The company was trying to appeal to the customers sophisticated taste and demand for high-technology products in this region. This was the reason for Nokia to introduce its new phone N9 in Saudi Arabia.

Nokia N9

The Alessandro Lamanna, Nokia's Vice President of Sales, Middle East and Africa said, "The Nokia N9, which will be available in select markets across the world, is perfectly suited for this region's high-tech and style conscious consumer who demand best-in-class products. With recent figures from Gartner revealing that Nokia smartphones continue to be market leaders in MEA, claiming 41.9% of the category market, consumers in the region clearly value and trust Nokia products. Addressing this clear preference, Nokia has selected MEA as one of the first markets to launch the N9, continuing our commitment to meet customer demands for products that excel in performance and enhance their social standing."
Nokia values MEA market. Company was able to show its respect and understanding of religious culture through introduction of its two smartphone applications Ramadan Calender App and Quran App. This applications are very popular in Muslim countries. They include Islamic stories and fasting tips, prayers and Ramadan greetings. 

The only one market that keeps being a concern for the company is United States. For the past year the company closed 2 of its major stores and keeps  loosing customers mostly due to very high competition from Apple, Droid and RIM. The primary customers in the country want new and improved prototypes of IPhone, who Nokia yet to target with its upcoming WP7 phone.