Nokia is reported to be ready to close its Vertu luxury mobile phone outlets in Japan

Nokia’s gradual withdrawal from the Japanese market looks set to continue, with rumours that the vendor is set to withdraw its Vertu range of “luxury” handsets and services due, apparently, to the brand’s inability to compete with smartphones.

According to reports in Japanese newspaper Nikkei, the Finnish vendor will withdraw completely from that market at the end of August this year, having failed to make any meaningful impact on the country’s mobile communications ecosystem. Nokia’s Vertu partnership contract with local big gun NTT DoCoMo was due to end at around this time also.

British-based Vertu is an independently run division of Nokia, manufacturing the mobile phone market’s answer to high-end, status symbol watches and jewellery. Many of its phones are made using precious metals and gems– it’s most expensive device to date, the Signature Cobra, retailed for over £200,000. A Signature stainless steel model retails for £8,600. The phones run on Nokia’s Symbian operating system.

Nokia’s relationship with the Japanese market has been a troubled one. The vendor pulled out of the mass market there in 2008 having battled to compete with locally developed products and competing offerings designed specifically with the Japanese user in mind. According to commentators at the time, Nokia’s offerings didn’t support many of the technologies popular with Japanese consumers, leaving the company unable to compete with locally based manufacturers. While Nokia’s star waned, the iPhone and Android based phones saw exponential growth, with the latter in particular cementing a toehold for device makers such as Samsung and LG.

Following the 2008 withdrawal, Nokia had continued to operate two Vertu outlets in the upmarket areas of Shibuya and Ginza. Nokia Siemens networks will continue to operate in Japan.

Finnish handset vendor Nokia has announced plans to launch mobile services in Japan, using its Vertu luxury handset brand as a platform.

The world’s biggest handset vendor is understood to be piggybacking on NTT DoCoMo’s 3G network in order to provide MVNO services to Japanese consumers.

The operation is being run by Nokia Siemens Networks as a managed service, allowing the MVNO to introduce value added services without investing in their own software, equipment, people and skills.

The project is being used as a showcase for NSN’s hosted services, and is being run from its Singapore hosting centre, which is capable of servicing customers throughout the Asia Pacific region.

Vertu itself is Nokia’s premium handset brand, responsible for churning out gold plated and diamond encrusted gadgets that cost a fortune. As a result, the Vertu Japan mobile services are also likely to be targeted at the more affluent end of the market.

“Meeting the needs of customers in this segment requires a specialised approach. Vertu users the world over are discerning individuals who are willing to pay a premium for the right experience. Our success relies on delivering a world class experience that is unmatched”, said Tagore Ramoutar, director of business development for Japan & Korea, at Vertu.