Nokia shuts down its stores

Wednesday, Nokia assured it will close its two flagship North American retail stores, in New York and Chicago, on the heels of a similar plans to close its store in London.

 Nokia didn't still unveil when the US stores to be closed, but the store on London's Regent Street reportedly will be closed in the first quarter next year.

 Since the majority of consumer purchases in North America are made through wireless operators, Nokia will focus on working with those operators and with retailers like Amazon.com and Best Buy.

 As Laurie Armstrong, a Nokia spokeswoman said, the stores were designed to "inspire and educate consumers to the benefits of mobility" and broaden the appeal of the Nokia brand. Since the US stores were opened in 2006, consumer awareness growth in US is significant.

 However, the awareness has not led to increased sales for Nokia in the North America region. Despite 25.3 million Nokia phones were sold during 2006, in 2008 sales dropped to 15.7 million.

 Having about 38% of world market share it has only about 8% market share in the U.S.

 Armstrong did not say how many eventually opened or whether they would all be closed. In addition to the flagship stores, Nokia also operates smaller retail stores.