Where does one even begin? HMD Global ushered in the revival of the Nokia brand and it hasn’t been going so well for HMD Global or the customers trying to get their hands on these new Nokia phones. Nokia customers have been plagued with a host of issues ranging from 1. janky USB-C ports that are doomed to fail within weeks or months which are present on almost every Nokia model, 2. just about everything about the “flagship” Nokia 9 Pureview like the unusable in-display fingerprint reader for example, 3. promised but undelivered camera app updates, 4. later than expected delivery of Android system updates, 5. late security patches, and 6. questionable VFM (value-for-money) due to middling specs for the price.
To top it all off, Nokia had several more or less internet-famous debacles. Angry consumers have transformed the Nokia support forums and the r/Nokia subreddit into bulletin boards for such stark criticisms of HMD Global and CPO Juho Sarvikas that entire threads seem to resemble hate-mail. However, these customers do have legitimate frustrations. The writing is on the walls. HMD is not delivering on the expectations that they have sold to consumers, and customers are rightfully upset.
I wouldn't go as far as to tell readers to avoid the HMD Global Nokia phones, but I would advise them to be cautious because these phones are building a bad reputation in terms of build quality, reliability, and longevity. Nobody should buy dud products.
The most recent sales figures showed a flat-lining and then a fall throughout 2018. It went from impressive growth in 2017* to more recently a deep decline in sales growth.** Aside from market research, I have come across some anecdotal evidence of suppliers, distributors, and retailers refusing to order shipments of Nokia phones due to high rates of customers returning phones, and even higher repair costs due to honored warranties on faulty devices.
The picture that is being painted for Nokia looks grim, and if it is any reflection of the future ahead of HMD Global and their efforts, then HMD needs to assess the image in the mirror very carefully. Nokia can’t afford another misstep. It might even be wiser for HMD Global to just call it quits, and to just fold, liquidate everything, close up shop, take the money - if any - and run.
Maybe there's an argument that given LG and SONY are still operating in the mobile phone retail competition maybe there is some sort of value in staying in the fight. However, it must be stated that things are very different for LG and Sony due to the massive structural differences which need to be pointed out. LG and SONY make phones as just one division of their respective companies, they make plenty of other products through the many other divisions that their companies have. These two companies will still make money with or without selling smartphones.
HMD on the other hand is, financially speaking, completely untethered from the other Nokia Technologies company that is still creating wireless transmission technology and devices. So, if HMD Global fails, they fail for good. There is no plan B. There's no parent company that can fly in and rescue HMD like an angel.
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SOURCES
*"Thanks to stellar software support, decent PR work and especially “quality smartphone launches”, HMD was able to ride an unexpected wave of nostalgia and consumer goodwill, tallying a respectable 8.45 million unit sales for the whole of 2017." - Adrian Diaconescu at PocketNow - https://pocketnow.com/hmd-nokia-smartphone-sales-2017-q4-numbers
**"Another mobile brand that saw fall in its sale is the HMD Global-owned Nokia. As per the data obtained by NokiaMob from Counterpoint Research, the Finnish handset maker shipped 12.9 million smartphones in 2019. This is a decline of 27% as compared to the 17.59 million smartphone shipment in 2018." - G Rajan at Times of India - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/gadgets-news/nokia-sold-four-times-more-features-phones-than-smartphones-in-2019/articleshow/73894737.cms
"This quarter Nokia is not among the top 10 smartphone brands reveals the report from analyst firm Counterpoint research… There are too many Nokia smartphones to manage from Nokia 1 to Nokia 9." - Nayan at Nokia Power User - https://nokiapoweruser.com/hmd-needs-a-standalone-cheaper-nokia-smartphone-portfolio-adopting-better-specs-for-money-strategy/
"Regarding Nokia Mobile’s performance, we sent and inquiry to Counterpoint and they were happy to provide the data to us. In Q4 2019, the preliminarily shipment estimate for Nokia Mobile is that the company shipped 2.8 million smartphones, posting a decline of 41% compared to Q4 2018, and 15 million feature phones, which is an 1% increase compared to Q4 2018. On a total year basis, Nokia Mobile shipped 17% less feature phones (53.49 million in 2019 compared to 64.8 million in 2018) and 27% less smartphones (12.9 million compared to 17.59 million in 2018)." - Stipe at Nokia Mob - https://nokiamob.net/2020/01/31/nokia-smartphone-and-feature-phone-shipments-were-down-in-2019-q4-2019-results/
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