A little over a year ago, we were saying our goodbyes to the Nokia brand because the company had fallen so fast, there is no way we could visualize a redemption. However, one Finnish startup, HMD Global Oy, decided to take the big risk and resurrect the Nokia brand.
To say that the Nokia brand has the most successful comeback for a brand will be an understatement. HMD started selling Nokia phones in December of 2016 and in January of 2017, the company announced their first Nokia-branded smartphone, the Nokia 6.
Counterpoint’s results for Q4 2017 mobile phone sale are out and HMD Global is giving everyone shivers down their spine. The company now commands a 5% market share of the mobile phone industry, making it the number 6 mobile phone brand globally. Tailing OPPO, who take up 6.8% of the industry, Xiaomi is number four with 7%, Huawei, Samsung and Apple take up the top positions with 10.2%, 18.4% and 19.2% market share respectively.
In 2017, Nokia sold more smartphones than Google, HTC, Sony, Alcatel and OnePlus. HMD Global is now the number one feature phone brand in the world with 15% market share of that segment and when it comes to smartphone only, the company takes up position 11, with 1% market share, which is not bad for a startup that is a little over one year old.
Neil Shah, a partner at Counterpoint, attributes HMD’s growth to their performance in India. “Further this growth comes with nascent performance in most important & 2nd largest mobile phone market, India, where the Nokia brand has the most brand equity to cash in. If HMD Global succeeds in India market, it should drive up Nokia brand to top five phone brands globally,” he said.
HMD Global seems to be on a roll as the company already announced their first smartphone of the year albeit only available in China, Nokia 6 (Second Generation), we are expecting the company to make more announcements later on this month at Mobile World Congress.
