Nokia to close both U.S. retail locations

Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia will close its two flagship retail locations in the United States due to a lack of interest, as the company struggles to draw attention to its stores.

“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 New York and Chicago (2006), consumer awareness in the U.S. has grown substantially,” Nokia said in a statement to Channelweb.  “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.”

The company currently has 12 official stores, with locations such as London, Sao Paolo, Chicago, and New York.  It will also reportedly close two locations in London sometime next year, the company announced.

As someone who has been to both Chicago and New York City recently, I wasn’t even aware Nokia had stores in either city.  Apple has been highly successful with its retail locations — Microsoft joined the party late, but has seen success — though it seems phone manufacturers should avoid opening their own stores.

I think it’s up to the phone manufacturers to create appealing devices, and then let wireless providers help market them — trying to create a custom store has proven to be a waste of time for Nokia.  The company, which continues to bleed money as its smartphone catalog struggles, hopes its Ovi App Store will be able to compete with the Apple iPhone and its wildly popular app store.