Nokia will close Flagship U.S. stores in early 2010

Today, Nokia confirmed reports stating it will close its New York and Chicago stores, in addition to the manufacturer’s UK store in London. This may come as upsetting news to some Nokia fans, especially those who frequent or even had a chance to see either U.S. stores. Nokia opened its U.S. flagship locations in 2006 to in an effort to expose U.S. consumers to the Nokia brand with an innovative concept store. The manufacturer went on to say, “The decision to close the two Nokia Flagship Stores in the U.S. was made to create clear alignment with our local market strategy and in addition, as part of a global realignment of Nokia’s retail strategy.”

I hope this realignment of its retail strategy includes aggressively targeting U.S. carriers. Since Nokia lacks carrier support for the majority of its smartphone handsets, U.S. customers are left to pay an arm-and-a-leg to get the devices. With the relative stateside success of the manufacturer’s E71, and recent claims of a revamped Symbian S60 OS and movement towards Maemo, it sounds like Nokia has a lot of potential to gain some ground in the U.S. market in 2010. Let’s hope the closing of these stores is a step towards that, instead of a sign of Nokia’s dwindling market share. Check out the full statement below:

The Flagship stores, opened in 2006 in the U.S., were conceived to inspire and educate consumers to the benefits of mobility through an innovative retail experience, and broaden the appeal of the Nokia brand.

The decision to close the two Nokia Flagship Stores in the U.S., located in New York City and Chicago, was made to create clear alignment with our local market strategy and in addition, as part of a global realignment of Nokia’s retail strategy.

Nokia remains committed to providing the best consumer and retail experience around the world – the Flagship Stores are only part of Nokia’s retail experience and marketplace strategy. Nokia’s retail strategy includes retail and operator partners and their more than 600,000 retail outlets globally. All of these customer outlets will remain essential to Nokia’s ongoing success and continue to be a primary sales channels in the future.

[Source: Engadget, Nokia Experts]