“Nokia’s management has been under increasing criticism from analysts and shareholders as its share price has missed the market’s recovery, and the firm’s profits are set to miss the economic upturn this year as its smartphone portfolio flounders,” Virki reports. “Sales chief Anssi Vanjoki will lead a new solution business unit, which will include company’s smartphones and services operations, while Mary McDowell will take over the company’s key mobile phones unit from Rick Simonson, who will retire.
“It is really surprising how often Nokia is reorganising management, as is the frequency, and investors should be worried about the pace,’ said Swedbank analyst Jari Honko,” Virki reports. “Nokia has long said it aims to shift executives around to keep management fresh, but the pace of Nokia’s latest reshuffle — it did a similar revamp last October — reflects the steep challenges facing the firm.”
Virki reports, “Nokia has not been able to make a serious challenge to Apple’s iPhone in the three years since it was introduced. Its last hit smartphone model, the N95, was unveiled in 2006.”
MacDailyNews Take: That was, of course, before Apple showed the world what a smartphone is really supposed to be.
Virki continues, “Hurt by recession and weak portfolio, Nokia’s revenues fell 19 percent last year, while operating profit dropped 76 percent. The value of the company’s brand — one of its key assets — dropped 58 percent in just one year, according to a global study by Millward Brown.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: History is littered with companies that couldn’t adapt to change quickly enough.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Larry S.” and “Robert S.” for the heads up.]
I for one welcome our new Nokia household staff…
I don’t think MDN is telling the full story here.
Nokia is extremely versatile — they started out at a rubber company, for goodness sakes! They know how to adapt. I think the real issue isn’t simply that Nokia hasn’t developed a true competitor to the iPhone with an effective and user-friendly application marketplace (no one else has either) — the real issue is that Nokia’s bread-and-butter mobile phones are being undercut on cost by the bottom-feeders. Disposable phones are replacing quality low-cost phones, which is a disgusting reality of our wasteful civilization.
So, like every other European and American company, Nokia is finding the “middle ground” to be infertile. Successful companies either go high-end (iPhone, BMW, and so forth) or rush to outsource their production, sacrificing quality if need be to buoy profits (rebranded electronics, Levi jeans, GE appliances, etc).
I honestly hope Nokia gets their act together and creates new cutting-edge phones rather that attempting to maintain a hold in cheap phones.
Do you really believe that Nokia (or anyone else for that matter) can release a next-gen phone at this point that is truly “cutting edge”? Won’t Nokia’s next offering be more of a “catch-up” to the others that have so obviously outpaced them in R&D;?
Seriously, how can Nokia possibly jump the shark here, bypassing the current smartphone market and landing smack dab in a next-gen product line in one fell swoop? IMHO it can’t be done. The best they can hope for at this point is a modest and respectable competitor to the iPhone, et al. And THAT won’t expand your market share.
Olli Pekka needs to go.
I like my n82 thank you very much.
First, they need a real, mobile OS. They have MeeGo and Symbian and aren’t they also dabbling with MS? Make up your minds already.
Then, they need to get rid of about 190 of the more than 200 phone models they offer.
That would be a start.
You should check the commonly accepted use of ‘jumping the shark’.
I think it’s too late for Nokia, they have already jumped the shark.
Rearranging the deck chairs, are they?
“”It is really surprising how often Nokia is reorganising management, as is the frequency,”
Didn’t he just say the same thing twice?
beheaded chicken run around. Then they die.
Sorry. Misused the term. However, everything else I posted stands. And, thanks to you, I can now say (accurately): Nokia has jumped the shark ALREADY, for they are clearly experiencing a marked downturn in their previously successful enterprise.
Thanks again.
Guys Nokia is lack of software and media delivery platform. Whereby Steve jobs did one thing different from all the telecom or phone co. He tackle and buy out Media co. Hey put ya songs and movie into my store I will make sure it worth every single penny. Lastly Steve jobs didn’t invent anything the idea turn a phone into a media player was already exist on other phone brand he just tweak what he has on his music player to a tele com cum media player device which integrate well with his delivery platform.
Lastly, the operating system which come with iPhone is too advance for other competitor to catch up. Ask yourself a question Microsoft mobile and symbian os both are very advance mobile platform which apple did was consolidated the technology and get rid of their weakness. Symbian too rigid and windows mobile stylus and bad recognition. It’s the software , application , media and the operating system that won the mobile war for apple not the hardware. If think about it if the iPhone installed with symbian and windows mobile do u think it will work as what it is today ? Iphone3gs?
It’s too late for nokia IMO the only way nokia can yet survive and maintain as a key player in the phone market. Keep producing cheap and quality phone to stabiliZe their earning and position in the market. Meanwhile only 2 co in this plane can save them google, amazon or Microsoft. IMO google is the only co which has the similar vision against apple. Cloud, advertisement on mobile multimedia and games distribution. If nokia still doesn’t have a delivery platform as good as iTunes then they are doomed. Ovi is a failure IMO how many of u guys use it before I do and I get upset over things I search over that store. Nokia pls wake up software is the key factor to increase hardware sales this Computing 101. Give u an example I want to play unreal 5 damn my pc seems to be low specs for it it’s time to upgrade. What pushes the hardware to sell? Is the software !