There are winners and yes that unfortunately means there are losers.
With Apple having yet another blockbuster year, particularly in the mobile industry with the success of the iPad and the incredible pre-order sales of the iPhone 4, someone out there has to be suffering at their expense right?
Well it looks like one of the first on this list is in fact Nokia as the company lowered their expectations for the second quarter today announcing “multiple factors are negatively impacting Nokia’s business to a greater extent than previously expected. These factors include: the competitive environment, particularly at the high-end of the market, and shifts in product mix towards somewhat lower gross margin products. In addition, the recent depreciation of the Euro affects Nokia’s cost of goods sold, operating expenses and global pricing tactics.”
Nokia now expects net sales for the Devices & Services group to be at the lower-end or slightly below the previously expected range of EUR 6.7 billion to EUR 7.2 billion for Q2 of this year. As for the full year outlook, Nokia continues to expect mobile device volume to be up 10 % as compared to 2009. However, perhaps more telling, Nokia expects their mobile device market share to be slightly lower in 2010 when compared to 2009. Why? “primarily due to the competitive situation at the high-end of the market and shifts in product mix”
Yes the economic recovery is in an uncertain state and yes the Euro is hurting but perhaps more telling is the fact that other companies are succeeding in the same space where Nokia is faulting. When 600K U.S. customers pre-order the iPhone 4, you have to ask yourself would anyone really get that excited over a Nokia handset?
