Nokias history dates back to 1865, when mining engineer Fredrik Idestam set up his first wood pulp mill at the Tammerkoski Rapids in Southwestern Finland. From its humble beginning with one paper mill, the company has participated in many sectors over time: cables, paper products, tires, rubber boots, consumer and industrial electronics, plastics, chemicals, telecommunications infrastructure and more. Nokia first entered the telecommunications equipment market in 1960 when an electronics department was established at Finnish Cable Works to concentrate on the production of radio-transmission equipment. (Nokia - Our Story)The intention of Nokia into unrelated sectors was to grow fast and protect themselves against economic fluctuations. Divestment in other businesses: Deregulation of telecommunications markets in Europe and US in late 1980s and early 1990s led Nokia to only focus on mobile telecommunications market. Nokia realized early that the digital age is going to be the future. And, as Nokia focused its strategy, it divested its other non-telecommunications operationsincluding paper, personal computer, rubber, footwear, chemicals, power plant, cable, aluminum and television businesseswere divested between 1989 and 1996. (Nokia - Our Story)

To gain acceptance and generate local appeal of Indian customers Nokia came up with innovative features in their phones. Some of them are:1998 Saare Jahaan Se Acchha, first Indian ringtone in a Nokia 51102000 First phone with Hindi menu (Nokia 3210)2002 First Camera phone (Nokia 7650)2003 First Made for India phone, Nokia 11002004 Saral Mobile Sandesh, Hindi SMS on a wide range of Nokia phones(NextBigWhat, 2010)Distribution: In 1995, Nokia chose HCL for distribution of its telecommunication products (Nokia Press Release, 1995). Nokia strategically decided to tie-up with HCL since HCL already had gained a significant expertise in the communications and had country-wide presence through a large and well established distribution and service network. This helped Nokia in bringing down its investment in establishing a brand new distribution network from scratch. Further, to reach the masses, Nokia explored all possible distribution channels. Nokia realized that the customers consider the phone as consumer durables, so Nokia tried to make use of other networks like FMCG distributors or consumer durable sellers. As per Mr. D Shivakumar, Nokias Vice President and Country Manager, out of 95,000 outlets that sell mobile phones in India in 2007, 50,000 deals in only one brand and that is Nokia. (SANJAY MISRA, 2009).In 2005, Nokia opened its first Concept Store to offer a unique retailing experience to the tech savvy people. The store offered a glimpse and feel of entire range of Nokias offering. (Deccan Herald News Service, 2005)HCL also supported Nokia by expanding their distribution network to strengthen presence in rural areas by adding 137 Regional Rural Dealers for telecom distribution business. (Malhotra, 2014)

Marketing: Nokias marketing strategy was by generating emotional appeal - The emotional need of being able to keep in touch with near and dear ones during times of joy and sorrow is being adequately fulfilled. (Deepti to add)Focus on quality: Nokia focused on building durable products with long life a key requirement of Indian customers. Because of high quality and affordability, Nokia phones had a high resale value and highest number of repeat purchases (Ray, 2012).

Made for India Phone: Nokia launched its first Made for India phone, Nokia 1100, in 2003. The phone was primarily targeted at customers who were looking for a basic and low cost but a reliable phone. The prime target for the phone was low end segment/ first-time users, who valued reliable functionality, simplicity and value for money. Nokia emphasized on the product quality to deliver a reliable product. (Nokia Press Release, 2003) (Exhibit xxx)The phone was launched with features like anti-slip sides to provide a better grip as well as reduce the risk of dust and rain damage. Features like torch, which may not be of much use in developed economies but was very useful in rural areas in India where power cuts were quite common. The advertising campaigns were targeted at low end customers. In one of the advertisements the phone was hanging in front of a truck which transverses the length of India. It gave an implicit message that the phone is a reliable product with features like dust resistant, torchlight, anti-slip grip (Nokia, 2003) (Refer Exhibit xxx). Nokia launched 1100 at around Rs. 4000 (Saxena, 2003), and the customer found good value for money at this price. Nokia used its key strengths in manufacturing, marketing, and distributing to sell the phone across India. The phone was a runaway success and sold over 250 Million units across the globe Nokia 1100 is the worlds best-selling and most popular mobile phone ever. (Cutler, 2013)

For reference onlyhttps://books.google.co.in/books?id=K3QRwx7N-PIC&pg=PA118&dq=nokia+market+segmentation+india&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sOebVaSzGoyv0ATT8auYAQ&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=nokia%20market%20segmentation%20india&f=false

Phones for all segments: Nokia launched phones in all segments low, medium, and high. Customers usually upgrade phone form entry level phones to medium/ high end phones. So, Nokia by having entry level phones gained an opportunity to build brand loyalty and retain customers. Further, Nokia kept competitive prices for its low end range, where the competition was high and phones had more or less the same features, while for the high range Nokia offered differentiated products with unique features like N-gage the first gaming phone, 6300 the first camera phone in India, etc, and charged a premium price for these phones. This helped Nokia in maintaining good margins.

Manufacturing base in India Nokia was the first among the mobile phone manufacturers to leverage low cost skilled labor by setting up their manufacturing facilities and R&D centers in India. (Deepti to add)