Nokia to Open Retail Store in Chicago

Nokia said Monday that it would open its first company-owned and operated retail location in Chicago's "Magnificent Mile" shopping district. Opening June 24, the store would be located on Michigan Avenue and would showcase some of the company's most upscale phones.

Nokia also has plans to open up stores in other shopping districts over the next two years, including a store on Fifth Avenue in Fall 2006. The modern stores include multimedia displays that walk users through the features of Nokia products, with salespersons available to answer users' questions.

As well as Nokia's standard phones, the Chicago store will also feature its Vertu line of ultra high-end handsets. These phones are hand crafted with materials including sapphire crystals, fine leather, polished ceramic, ruby bearings and casing made of gold, stainless steel and titanium.

"By locating the Nokia Flagship Stores in the world's premier shopping locations, like Michigan Avenue in Chicago and Fifth Avenue in New York, we will be attracting people who truly enjoy the experience of shopping, and we think that the service, selection and surroundings that we are delivering will exceed the expectations of even these most experienced shoppers," Nokia retail and trade marketing director Cliff Crosbie said in the announcement.

Nokia said it doesn't intend for the stores to replace the nearly 300,000 other locations worldwide that sell the company's phones. Instead, it would use the locations to test out the popularity of new handset models.

"One important goal of the Nokia Flagship Store program is to determine the most impactful methods of retailing Nokia's product line, and sharing those learnings across Nokia's retail and operator channels," Crosbie added.