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Nokia, a once-iconic mobile phone manufacturer, is evolving into a "business technology company" focused on selling equipment to other businesses. During the Mobile World Congress 2023 event in Barcelona, Nokia's President and CEO, Pekka Lundmark, introduced a three-part plan to reset, accelerate, and scale. With the first phase complete, the company is now accelerating and revamping its logo for the first time in 60 years to signify a strategic shift.
The new logo consists of five different shapes forming the word 'Nokia,' with the previous blue colour replaced by a range of colours depending on its use. This redesign was done to distance itself from mobile phones, an industry it exited almost a decade ago, and highlight that it is now focused on selling equipment to other businesses. The Finnish company's main focus is on serving wireless service providers with network equipment. While it aims to expand its service provider business, it is also looking to sell more gear to other businesses.
To achieve its objective, Nokia has announced that it will be focusing on six strategic pillars moving forward.
This is Nokia, but not as the world has seen us before. Our new brand signals who Nokia is today. We’re unleashing the exponential potential of networks and their power to help reshape the way we all live and work.
— Nokia #MWC23 (@nokia)
"Our new visual identity captures Nokia as we are today, with renewed energy and commitment as pioneers of digital transformation. We built on the heritage of the previous logo but made it feel more contemporary and digital, to reflect our current identity. The brand was launched today at MWC Barcelona and it is now being rolled out across our sites and assets," wrote Lundmark in a blog post.
The Finnish tech company has the potential to gain market share without compromising margins, as limits have been placed on Chinese rival Huawei Technologies Co. after some European governments forbade it from supplying components for 5G networks. The company also plans to review the growth path of its various businesses and consider alternatives, including divestment. According to Reuters, the company's move towards factory automation and data centres will see it competing with tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon.
Despite the current challenges in the market for selling telecom gear, Lundmark remains optimistic about the potential for growth and improvement in the company's operating margins. According to a Livemint report, the company recently regained an investment-grade BBB- rating from S&P Global Ratings, however, Lundmark believes that the company can make improvements to achieve even higher ratings. The company said that it is positioning itself to take advantage of a stronger North American market in the second half of the year.
Overall, the company's new logo highlights a strategic shift from more than 30 years of mobile phone manufacturing to selling high-tech equipment to other businesses. Lundmark insists that the new logo change was not just about making Nokia look different. He said that it was about the innovation, networking, partnerships and most of all, it was about "our people."
He wrote, "But this isn’t just about what we look like. It’s about our strength in networking, innovation, collaborative partnerships and technology leadership. It’s about our value propositions in current and prospective markets. And most of all, it’s about our people. In my view, Nokia has the best, most talented and most inspiring people in the business. Every day I feel privileged to work alongside them. So Nokia’s leadership team and I wanted to create a new brand that worked for them, representing who they are, what they do and why they do it."