HMD Global to launch Nokia smartphone sales in Thailand soon
FINLAND-BASED HMD Global, the exclusive licensee of the Nokia brand for mobile phones and tablets, is ready to launch operations in Thailand next quarter, the company’s vice president for Asia-Pacific, James Rutherfoord, said yesterday.
The company has set up an office in Bangkok and appointed business partners, including distributors. However, he declined to elaborate on the partners’ names or the sales target for the first year of operations here.
Thailand is one of the top five Southeast Asian markets on which HMD has focused, said Rutherfoord, who is a former Nokia executive.
HMD chief executive officer Arto Nummela said his company had set an ambitious goal of becoming one of the top global players in the smartphone market in the next few years.
“The smartphone business is very competitive but we’re at the same time extremely ambitious. Our aim is to be one of the top smartphone players globally in the coming years. We’re bringing Nokia to the next chapter,” said Nummela, who is also a former Nokia executive.
The company will capitalise on Nokia’s well-known characteristics of simplicity, quality and reliability to woo consumers, he said.
HMD recently unveiled its Nokia 6, Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 smartphones, all running on the Android operating system. It has also reintroduced the iconic Nokia 3310 feature phone, with a new design and some performance improvements.
Last year HMD signed a strategic licensing agreement with Nokia Technologies, the advanced technology and licensing unit of Nokia Corporation, giving HMD sole use of the Nokia brand for mobile phones and tablets worldwide for 10 years from last December.
HMD has also developed strategic partnerships with some of the world’s leading technology companies, including FIH Mobile and Google, to strengthen its Nokia-branded product portfolio.
