11/03/2002

Mobile phone industry reports declining sales

The mobile phone industry has experienced its first ever decline in sales, according to recent research which has reported overall consumer sales as slipping by 3.2 per cent.

The findings, published by Gartner Dataquest, showed that global mobile phones sales fell below the 400 million units mark during 2001, as saturation of the European market finally took its toll on an industry which found it hard to convince existing customers to part with their handsets in favour of more updated models.

The figures are in marked contrast to the industry's previously vigorous growth rate that saw sales increase by over 50 per cent year on year during the period between 1996 and 2000.

The industry has also had to battle against a growing second-hand market in developing countries, while closer at home, subsidies have been removed by telecoms operators, leaving companies with no choice than to up the cost of their services.

However, the report contained some good news for Nokia, which managed to improve its market share during the fourth quarter to 36.9 per cent, sales were helped by a timely Christmas promotion that showcased several new models.

Motorola stayed in second position, with a market share of 14.8 per cent.

(CL)

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