Nokia, which has been toying with temporary stores for more than two years, opened its first permanent U.S. store on Chicago's Miracle Mile in late June as it prepped for a major U.S. push. Next stop: New York's Fifth Avenue.
Each of the Nokia flagships will feature multimedia displays on the perimeter of the shop that will display the features of Nokia projects. Customers can even send text messages that will be displayed within the store and also broadcast to other Nokia locations around the world.
“When you pick up the phones, you immediately enter an interaction with the screen — everything is interactive,” says Cliff Crosbie, global head of retail marketing with Nokia. “You get this very in-depth service experience as well. In Chicago it's a one-level store, but we can do the concept over two or three levels.”
Along with Nokia handsets, the 2,300-square-foot Chicago store hosts a Vertu Lounge featuring some of Nokia's high-end handsets. The Vertu devices are hand-crafted with materials not found in other wireless devices, such as sapphire crystals, leather, polished ceramic, ruby bearings and housings of gold, stainless steel, titanium and other metals.
The New York location, which will open in September, will measure 3,500 square feet and span three floors. Nokia is planning 18 flagships around the globe, including stores in Hong Kong, Helsinki and Mexico City.