Boston, MA 10/21/2013 (wallstreetpr) – Former CEO of the Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), Jorma Ollila, was at the helm of the company at the time when they were the largest phone maker in the world and he has now revealed in his memoir that many mistakes were made while he was in charge, including a marked failure to anticipate customer preferences and create new software.
At a function marking the book’s release on Thursday, Ollila said that after the emergence of smartphones, Nokia found it hard to hold its position as trendsetters in the market and they found themselves having to contend for market share with cheaper handsets manufactured in Asia as well. He also pointed a finger at service providers in the United States who he claimed felt threatened at the time by Nokia’s 20% market share and who supposedly falsely advised Nokia that customer would not be willing to buy high end smartphones costing more than $300. At the same time Apple was on the verge of releasing the $600 iPhone which went on to become one of the best selling devices in history.
In retrospect, Ollila believes that Nokia should have been much bolder in pushing the boundaries of cell phone technology instead of trying to react as trends came on stream. He pointed specifically to touch screen and clam shell phones as innovations that Nokia never properly adapted and the company paid the price as a result.
Nokia has been struggling in recent years to regain a position of relevance in the manufacture and sales of cell phones and currently finds itself as an insignificant factor in an industry now dominated by Apple and Samsung devices. Changes in leadership have failed to produce any turnaround in fortunes and Nokia is now looking to the pending deal with Microsoft as a means of reclaiming its former glory.
