Nokia selling off luxury line Vertu? (+ small rant)

I saw this on Twitter this morning on my way to Uni, and was surprised it hadn’t been posted yet. Financial Times have reported that Nokia are in talks to sell off Vertu, their luxury phones division. I can’t say it is a surprising decision. I have never really seen Vertu phones in the wild, nor have I seen them for sale, other than when I was at the airport in Dubai a few years back. Although, it is said they have an annual revenue “estimated to be between €200m and €300m.”  Given the low profits of Nokia lately, this sell off could be helpful, as they endeavor to focus on the next billion (and not the next billionaire).

It is estimated that the selling of Vertu will raise approx €200m for the company. It’s not enough to completely save Nokia from doom, but if it means we will see them stay in the game longer, I say sell. There is a lot Nokia must do to turn around. Like Jay posted, Nokia is losing ground in the feature phone market. They need to cut the out-goings, refine and restructure resources, and deliver some killer devices, with announcement and release being within the month (ideally a fortnight but that won’t happen).

Some may say it’s too little too late, but whilst Nokia still exists, it can still come back.

Source: Financial Times

Michael

Category: Nokia