Nokia confirms New York and Chicago flagship stores are closing in early 2010
By Chris Ziegler 
posted December 9th 2009 4:56PM
posted December 9th 2009 4:56PM
No surprises here, but Nokia has confirmed a Nokia Experts report today that the company will be shutting down its North American flagship stores in New York and Chicago, leaning on big boxes and carriers to handle the in-store experiences going forward. Considering the fractional market presence Nokia has in the States compared to the UK -- where it's closing its Regent Street location -- the move comes as no shock, but it's still a shame to see these really attractive, high-tech hero locations close down. The way we saw it, these stores were never about sales; they were about exposing Nokia to the public and vice versa in a cool, hip environment, and regardless of how you feel about the company's handsets, they'd effectively accomplished that with the flagship strategy. Here's Nokia's official statement, which confirms our opinion but takes the questionable stance that the stores have outlived their function now that "consumer awareness in the US has grown substantially":"In North America, over 90 percent of consumer purchases are made through carriers - Nokia continues to support our relationship with carriers in this market, as well as the continued expansion of our retail partner network with the likes of Amazon and Best Buy (for example), in line with our strategy. As we continue to expand our services and solutions offerings across these various channels, we have decided to close the NY and Chicago stores to allow more concentration on our other channels.
The Flagship stores were originally conceived to inspire and educate consumers to the benefits of mobility through an innovative retail experience, and to broaden the appeal of the Nokia brand. Since opening the stores in NY and Chicago (2006), consumer awareness in the U.S. has grown substantially. Weighing those dynamics with Nokia's clear strategy in North America, and our well-established retail channel with third parties, we will close these two stores (New York and Chicago) in early 2010.
This decision was made to create clear alignment with our local market strategy and, in addition, as part of a global realignment of our retail strategy in overall."
NOOOooooooooooo :(
"Considering the fractional market presence Nokia has in the States compared to the UK -- where it's closing its Regent Street location -- the move comes as no shock, but it's still a shame to see a couple really attractive, high-tech hero locations to go see Nokia's latest wares close down."
Uh - Engadget's editors are on leave this week - first the "Switched on" ridiculousness and now this massive comma/hyphen monstrosity. High-tech hero what??
@Phen Hey, cut me some slack -- sometimes you've gotta rush to get a breaking story up on the double!
@Chris Ziegler
Fair 'nuff :)
Could you text Ross Rubin and have him iron out that Switched On article too? Even the edit failed on that one, heh
@Phen They're called Oxford commas. American English tends to drop them, but they're still proper English. American English also drops hyphens on tons of words that should be hyphenated.
@Phen
Jesus, Phen, take an Ex-Lax and drop it.
@tuna lol. Nobody wants to drop it after that Android article. Ever since, everyone's been jumping over one another to call out Engadget's staff whenever they make a mistake. God forbid Chris ever drops a "Its" one fine day in Spring. Brace for impact.
However it should be noted that the Switched On - Apple/Lala article was just bad.
@Chris Ziegler In this case, I'd like to up-rank you. Too bad I can't..
@jinushaun
Thx Jiinushaun - FYI I'm Canadian and we use "proper" English spelling and grammar up here (except Aluminium and foetus). Read the very last portion of the sentence - which after further perusal, I've decided should have been almost completely hyphenated maybe? That's mostly what throws it off for me...
Nokia has very poor relations with US operators and now closing own stores as well. Taking milktrain back home to Finland.
Abandon ship!
@(Unverified)
Main Entry: fall back
Part of Speech: verb
Definition: retreat
Synonyms:
back, draw back, give back, recede, recoil, retire, retrocede, retrograde, surrender, withdraw, yield
Hmm. I don't think Nokia will gain any foothold in the US in the near-distant future. I love their phones, and the N900's successor will be my next phone, but I can't imagine anyone willing to pay for an unsubsidized phone. Yeah sure, subsidized phones are costlier in the long run (not entirely convinced there), but most people would rather spring little cash upfront for a phone.
Meanwhile, I doubt if their Asian stronghold is in any imminent danger, Nokia's huge there...
@DirtyVegas Basic arithmetic's not too hard to do, you know. Try it, actual numbers might actually convince you.
@plaka999
Right. If I bring my nokia to the table, how much will I save in two years? Are the data plans cheaper? I looked on the t-mobile site and nothing's immediately obvious.
If you can put aside your passive aggressive bitchiness and show me the figures, I'll gladly concede that buying an unsubsidized phone is cheaper.
@DirtyVegas
560 for nokia n900
60/month for 500 min. unlimited text and data * 24 months = 1440
overall two years = 2000
iphone 3gs = 199
(40/month for 450 min + 30 for data + 20 for unlimited text)* 24 months
overall two years = 2360
done. you save 360 buying an expensive phone due to cheaper options.
bummer....hopefully this means they will push carriers to get on with their bigger devices(N900, N97, N97 mini E72)...and without crapware(I'm looking at your AT&T with your E71x)
@zap2 I'd rather just have them unlocked. The E71x is a good example. It costs more (after 2 year contract with more expensive data), can't manually select network, has crapware, and doesn't have customizable hotkeys. At least it looks cooler, although I have a case for my E71 that looks pretty good.
Yay for Newegg.
Wish there was more information about cellular service out there, especially pertaining to unlocked phones. There's so much misinformation out there, and information not understood, that consumers only buy directly from carriers because they "trust" the carrier, when the reps themselves usually give out information that is usually incorrect as most of us know. I've heard things from unlocked phones on T-Mobile having to get a data plan because it shows up unknown, to virtually almost no information about what phone works on what carrier, or how to tell the different. It's out there, but it isn't readily available for the masses. I think this is what is hurting Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and other unlocked phone providers out there. HTC on the other hand has gotten most of it's models on every provider, so they seem to be doing fine.
What goes up must come down:
i.e. Nokia's market share
@Hydraulics
Does that include Apple's stock price as well?
This is sad and unfortunate. Stuff like flagship stores like that are never about the money, rather they are investments in winning hearts and minds....
@jasonlackey
Not Apple's. Best performance per sq ft in retail. Even for their "flagship" (which I suppose would be 5th Ave).
@DTJ
The apple store is not a flagship store. Have you ever stepped foot in the the Nokia store? They have pretty much every phone in their line (especially the new ones) displayed elegantly and you can use them however you like.
As a Chicago resident this is very disappointing. Its a sweet store. A very Modest, but classy place. If you care anything about technology and cell phones it is a place you would like to see.
@a12ctic
You didn't explain why Apple's flagship stores aren't actually flagships?
(hint..they are)
That said, I agree Nokia closing their doors on these stores is a bummer, I went to NYC this summer and I really liked the Nokia store(gave me some great hands on time with device that are hard to find working model of in the States)
@jasonlackey
Winning hearts and minds... that's funny. I'm sure Nokia investors would howl after hearing that statement. How about winning hearts and minds with some decent products. Nokia better dump those empty stores and put the money in R&D. I don't care how beautiful and featured an N97 is if the average person can't figure out how to use it, then it's just another product that won't sell. What appeals to nerds won't sell to the masses. Nokia needs to move forward with the Maemo N900 and throw away half their bargain basement inventory and let the cheapsters buy used cellphones. Nokia is collapsing like a shrinking star and on the verge of becoming a black hole for investors.
@Average White Boy
Are you some kind of Stock broker? All you seem to care about is whether the "average consumer" will figure out how to use things. Who gives a damn about the average consumer? This is engadget, we are more technologically capable and informed than that.
it's not that surprising... when was the last anyone saw any significant sort of marketing from nokia in the u.s. ?
Oh well, Nokia doesn't need these shops to still outsell each current phone manufracturer.
I see no reason people aren't buying nokia phones? They by trump most that are sold by carriers in terms of camera and video quality. Also without having to be on contract.
While I feel the software side of nokia sucks a lot, the hardware department rocks. Nokias are good phones, and normally are quality with good battery life.
The best cells I have owned were nokias. With that said, I hate OVI , ovi maps, and the ovi store. I think the software direction they are going in is all wrong , plus they produce too many handsets at once, they need to take a step back, cut costs and really focus on a select set each year.
@Hydra Because they hardly have a presence with U.S. carriers. They can only get so far with their best phones being unlocked and out of the price range for most North Americans.
:(
Wow I will really miss never knowing where this store was and never seeing it. Wow. Just Wow.
Uh, we opened the stores to educate the public, and uh, they're all smart now, so uh, our job is done.
YES!! Die Nokia! Die! Die! Die!
@E71 woah dude, there is something completely wrong with you if you hate a phone company to the point where you want it to PHYSICALLY die. Golly, fanboyism is tearing this world apart piece by psychopathic piece.
@E71
You call yourself E71 and you want Nokia to die?
@DirtyVegas Disgruntled soon to be ex employee maybe?
if you can't change, you will fail no matter if you've been #1 for ever. Hope Nokia completes its restructure in a good way and come back stronger because I don't see them any more than a consumer-level phone maker only in a mass to keep them afloat. They need to hit it up another notch. Bring out the bangs like in early decades like 8290, 8890; You have to be beyond above everyone.
@larciel
Those basic phones were in a world of little competition, in the days before software-driven smartphones. Today they have to compete with Android, iPhone, even Blackberry. Poor quality software won't cut it, regardless of how good the hardware is.
@DTJ ...
Nokia pretty much created the smartphone. You are ignorant. Symbian is still reasonable if you want a lot of features and some cool applications.
@a12ctic
you're right. Symbian is "reasonable" at best and it will get worse with so much competition getting stronger. Nokia needs a knock-out punch and be able to sell it or it'll be Apple vs Google for next 3-5 years and in tech years that's a long time.
@larciel
Bullshit.
Nokia doesn't need a knock out punch or to produce one high end model. It needs to dominate the emerging smartphone market which is what it's doing.
Nokia's main competition is Samsung, not the currently fashionable high end vendors.
The store in NY was really vibrant. A lot of workers helped you find what you were looking for. That's where I picked up the 5800. Sucks that they're closing though; I'm gonna miss 'em.
This is sad, I was in the Chicago store for the first time this passed summer and it was definitely one of the coolest places I have ever seen. But it did demonstrate just how little mind share Nokia has in the U.S., with the exception of the staff, my parents and I where the only people in the store who had an American accent/spoke English as there first language, everyone else was European. But the staff was incredibly help full and nice, some of the best customer service I have ever seen. One person even went out of there way to talk to me about the Vertu's even though I obviously could not afford them.
Gotta love how this is 'Breaking' news, yet the first sentence starts "No surprises here..." =D
@SilverSurfer Yes. You do, in fact, have to love that.
@Chris Ziegler
um....your ranking buttons, sir?
If the other carriers pulled a T-Mobile and gave contract free plan, buying mobile phones would be a lot less of a headache
The Nokia Stores were always a loss-leader / luxury. As long as you could find the devices for significantly less (at Newegg, Amazon, and Buy.com) the Nokia Store is where I went to play with new phones, but I would ultimately buy them online. Too bad - I liked the experience at the NYC store, with experts around to talk about the devices competently. This si the market trend - Samsung closed their showroom in the Time Warner Center, too, as I recall.