Nokia to lower Lumia prices in IMEA

In an interview with the Times of India Nokia’s senior vice president (India, Middle East & Africa) D Shivakumar said Nokia was planning to adjust its prices of its Lumia range to make them more affordable to consumers in the India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA) region.

The statement was made in response to the question of Lumias selling better in more well-off regions.

Shivakumar said:

You will see more traction as we plan to expand the Lumia range and make it more affordable. Most markets in the IMEA region, except South Africa, have embraced the open-distribution model where handsets are not subsidised by service providers. Worldwide, there are two different business models — one, where the handset is subsidised by the operator, and the other where a consumer buys the phone independently. Since it is the latter model in most IMEA markets, Nokia aims to have a range of value points for it to attract various types of customers.

He went on to say Nokia would continue to work with Microsoft to take the Lumia range to newer markets and price points, though the ASHA line will remain the main revenue generator in the region.

Explaining the company’s strategy he said:

Lumia will be our prime challenger in the top-end and we will extend the range with newer products and a wider price band. We will also swiftly establish Asha as a smartphone as we reckon that the Asha Full Touch will be a huge bite for young consumers looking for entertainment and social experience. The third leg of our strategy involves building in future disruptions as and when they come in like we did with the PureView 41 megapixel phone.

Nokia is expected to announce between 2-4 Lumia devices at Mobile World Congress, which will likely epitomise this strategy, with a range of cheaper handset to increase the addressable market and a few high end Windows Phones with disruptive technology.