Forbes: Cellphone sales in Western Europe fell sharply in January-March as the economic slowdown hurt demand, but robust growth in emerging markets such as Asia and Africa more than offset the fall, Gartner said on Wednesday.
The 16.4 percent fall in Western European sales — the first decline since the research firm started tracking the market in 2001 — hit Sony Ericsson hardest as its range has the highest proportion of pricier handsets in Europe.
The cellphone industry has been speculating about the scale of declines in European sales since Sony Ericsson shocked the market with March’s profit warning due to soft European demand. European market leader Nokia said its sales volume in Europe rose 7.5 percent in January-March, but cited possible economic slowdown in Europe as one of the reasons for cutting its market growth forecast.
Nokia is less exposed to European demand as it has a far stronger position in emerging markets.
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