Nokia, a leading mobile brand, opened its first franchise store in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) at Riyadh's Kingdom Mall on Sunday. “We will inaugurate three other such stores in Saudi Arabia's major cities such as Jeddah, Dammam, and one more in Riyadh,” said Mark Kotze, director, Nokia Branded Retail, Middle East and North Africa. The trend in Saudi Arabia for mobile phones devices is changing with growing number of young Saudi consumers looked for advanced features such as emailing, navigation and music, he said. He further said Nokia will open around 30 to 40 more stores across the Kingdom during the next three to four years amid huge demand. He said young Saudis look for advanced features such as 3.5G in a mobile including MMS, e-mail, Internet browsing and taking instant snapshot. Mobile operators in Saudi Arabia have 3.5G technology which is enough to run the advanced features that Nokia has to offer, he added. “We are quite comfortable with the mobile operators in Saudi Arabia that have the capability to work with us.” The Nokia store in Riyadh that showcases a whole range of 1,600 brands is unique in terms of customers' satisfaction. Before buying Nokia phone the customer will have an opportunity of first-hand experience on how the latest features in a Nokia product could function, Kotze said. “Each Nokia store in the Kingdom features a carefully crafted retail environment ringed with state-of-the-art multimedia displays for guests to experience the components and benefits of a wide range of Nokia products and gear,” he said. __
