NEC Considers Returning to European Handset Market

Japan's NEC is mulling a return to selling mobile phones in Europe after losing market share in its Japanese home market. The company withdrew from selling in Europe and China three years ago due to losses in those market.

NEC, Japan's No.3 phone maker, has not decided where or when it will begin mobile phone sales, but Europe is a possibility, company spokesman Shinya Hashizume told the Reuters news agency. "We would also need to sell at least 1 million units to make it worthwhile," he added.

The company was a major player in the early analogue phone market and while less successful as a GSM handset supplier, it won multi-million unit orders from Hutchison Whampoa's European mobile network operators when they first launched their 3G networks in 2002.

On the web: Reuters

Posted to the site on 13th July 2009