Good Example Of Essay On Nokia

When Nokia was a Market Leader

Over the years, Nokia developed into a giant leader in the mobile communications industry. Its products became an integral part of the lives of people worldwide. By 2011, over 1.3 billion people used Nokia devices to access information, capture and share experiences, and communicate (Nokia, 2011). The company developed a reputable brand through its design and technological innovations; this made it the most recognized mobile communications brand in the world. It also engaged in the provision of telecommunications infrastructure hardware, services, and software; this occurred through the Nokia Siemens Network.
Nokia’s market leadership depended on its large customer base and enormous reach. Its Symbian OS was the backbone of its success due to its ease of use. Customers enjoyed the features due to the highly simplified GUI; Nokia dominated the middle and low-end markets. However, it failed in envisioning radical innovations, the competition, and high-end technology in the changing market. An analysis of Nokia’s progress in the market over the last decade depicts a gradual reduction in its competitive advantage over the other mobile communication companies. The graph below depicts its mobile phone business decline between 2004 and 2012.

Compare Nokia in the Last Ten Years

Nokia made a quick move from market domination to sell-off in a period of less than ten years. For instance, the market share in 2007 was 49.4%; this dropped to 43.7%, 41.1%, and 34.2% in the years that followed (Lee, 2013). By the first half of 2013, the number dropped to 3%. The graph below depicts the drop in market share between 2009 and 2012.
Nokia’s progress and struggle to maintain a competitive advantage are evident in the timeline of major events in the last decade. In 2004, Nokia revealed its dominance as a market leader despite the loss of shares to its rivals. It failed to meet the 40% target and fell behind in the new product range. In 2005, it celebrated the sale of the billionth phone. In 2007, it experienced one of the largest product recalls after it admitted the 46m phones could have faulty batteries. It also faced serious competition from Apple’s launch of the iPhone; this became a long-term challenge. In 2008, Nokia experienced a 30% fall in the third-quarter profits. As the sale of Apple’s iPhones rose to 327.5%, that of Nokia smartphones fell by 3% during the quarter. In 2009, it admitted it was slow in response to the rise of new devices such as the iPhone; this crippled its plans to regain market share control. It experienced the first loss in more than a decade. Nokia announced its plans to deal with the worldwide recession in mobile phone sales by cutting 1700 jobs (Monaghan, 2013).
In 2012, it moved the manufacturing of smartphones to Asia and cut an additional 4000 jobs. The shares fell following a profit warning, and Nokia experienced a €1.3bn loss. Analysts predicted a possible takeover by Microsoft; Nokia cut 10,000 jobs and announced the closure of its Finland factory. In 2013, it recovered from the 18-month series of losses and returned to profit. Microsoft bought the handset business for 4.6 billion Euros.
Nokia made legendary handsets that impacted the lives of people worldwide; it was a mobile revolution that impacted more than one generation. Despite the domination it had in the mobile communications industry, Nokia soon took a backseat with the emergence of the iPhone era. The failure of the mobile phone giant emerged from an era of complacency that gave its competitors a chance to establish dominance.

References

Lee, D. (September 3, 2013). Nokia: The rise and fall of a mobile giant. BBC News. Retrieved April 3, 2015 from http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-23947212
Monaghan, A. (September 3, 2013). Nokia: The rise and fall of a mobile phone giant. The Guardian. Retrieved April 3, 2015 from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/03/nokia-rise-fall-mobile-phone-giant
Nokia. (2011). Nokia Sustainability Report: 2011 Overview. Retrieved April 3, 2015 from http://company.nokia.com/sites/default/files/download/nokia-sustainability-report-2011- overview-pdf.pdf
Steinbock, D. (September 17, 2013). Nokia’s Failure: No flexibility in US, emerging markets. CNBC. Retrieved April 3, 2015 from http://www.cnbc.com/id/101040631