Nokia to focus on expanding its US smartphone market presence this year

In a recent interview with Digital Trends, the company stated that it “really” wants to increase the size of its US business throughout 2019. Eventually, the company hopes Nokia will become “one of the leading smartphone brands” in the market. However, it is aware that there are already “big players” in the market and that achieving such a scenario will take quite a bit of time. Nevertheless, HMD is “confident” that growth can be achieved.

Initial plans for the US market include expanding retail distribution but the company also revealed that it’s in talks with major carriers to discuss possible agreements. It didn’t provide any detail on the matter but one of these agreements could include a partnership with Verizon. After all, a Verizon-branded Nokia 2V has leaked out multiple times, suggesting a release is imminent.

Looking to the future, HMD Global was keen to point out that its current focus is smartphones as it requires “full attention.” However, it was suggested that wearables and other product categories could be explored once the Nokia brand has grown to a reasonable size.