Stephen Elop has been the Nokia CEO for two and a half years now. Prior to this assignment, he led Microsoft’s strategic implementations with the Finnish corporation. Combine the aforementioned work experience and one can say that Elop has had substantial exposure to the inner workings of Nokia. This experience formed the foundation to land on his feet when he joined Nokia on 21st September, 2011. This article is not one of praise, rather it will ponder over the steps that Nokia must adopt to sustain the glimmer of hope that the company witnessed in the fourth quarter of 2012. The ever competitive smartphone market will never stand still and higher-ups at Nokia must make solid decisions.
Nokia’s stock has taken a hit since 2011. In fact, the damage was so catastrophic that there were rumours pointing towards a possible filing for bankruptcy in 2012. Numbers released by popular analytics firm JP Morgan Chase indicate that there has been an increase of only 600,000 Lumia devices since the fourth quarter. Normally, this would be good news. However, Nokia shareholders will be more concerned with what could have been. The days, weeks and months subsequent to the launch of the Nokia flagship, the Lumia 920, saw Nokia unable to supply adequate stocks. Nokia were able to barely stock certain stores with a handful of units and shareholders were denied information pertaining to the short supply of components out of respect for the supplying companies.
There were analysts who were bullish on Nokia and thus set high target rates for the company’s stock. The stock never reached those levels, nor did it drop down to the recommended price set by most bearish analysts. Several stock experts have advised elimination of long equity exposure on the Finnish corporation. Nokia has sailed in troubled waters for almost three years now. The launch of Windows Phone 8 powered devices provided a much needed boost in Q4 last year. The launch of low and mid range devices like the Lumia 520, 620 and 720 is also expected to help Nokia sell big in countries like India, where it enjoys massive presence and customer loyalty. In fact, some online retailers in India have reported selling out of the Lumia 620 and 520, which can only be a sign of things to come for the Finnish manufacturer.
