Nokia to Close UK Online Store

Say goodbye to direct orders, diehard Nokia fans.

It’s no secret that Nokia’s been struggling lately, particularly in the smartphone arena. However, new CEO Stephen Elop has been making changes in an attempt to turn things around, the biggest one being a partnership with Microsoft. Nokia last month made efforts to streamline things by shuttering its French, Spanish and Dutch online stores. Today, the company added its UK store to the list.

"Prices are too subsidized by the carriers and sales were low, so they will keep providing support," a Nokia Spain spokesperson had explained last month, and it seems the company is once again blaming low sales and carrier subsidies for the closure of the UK shop.

T3 reports that customers will have have until June 30 to get their hands on a Nokia handset direct from the Finnish company’s online store and the company will still be providing full product support after that date.

Nokia’s first Windows Phone 7 handsets are expected to debut later this year, but it’s unclear if they will be enough to rescue the company’s efforts in the smartphone space.