Having sold its mobile devices and services business to Microsoft in April 2014, Nokia is now looking to make a comeback to the mobile industry by Q4 2016. However, with its large manufacturing, marketing and distribution channels now held by Microsoft, the company is looking for other partners who can fill in this huge gap. Nokia has released an official statement mentioning its search for partners.
Currently, Nokia exists mainly as a mobile structure infrastructure provider. The company also provides location and mapping services, alongside technology development and licensing. Last month, Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri gave hints of a possible comeback in the mobile space, once the agreement with Microsoft ends in the second half of 2016. The company would be looking for a similar partnership they had with Foxconn when they made the Nokia N1 Android tablet.
Nokia states, “The right path back to mobile phones for Nokia is through a brand-licensing model. That means identifying a partner that can be responsible for all of the manufacturing, sales, marketing and customer support for a product.” Nokia adds, “If and when we find a world-class partner who can take on those responsibilities, we would work closely with them to guide the design and technology differentiation, as we did with the Nokia N1 Android tablet.”
Microsoft, which had acquired Nokia for a whopping $7.2 billion, has recently been cutting ties with Nokia. The company has already let go of Stephen Elop, the former head of Nokia, who joined Microsoft after the acquisition. After facing losses with the Lumia smartphones, it cut down 7800 jobs last week. In addition, Microsoft is also writing off the deal for $7.6 billion, which is more than what it paid to acquire the Finnish phone giant.
Source: Nokia