For those of you who still think that the whole story of Nokia started in 1984 with the Mobira Talkmen, then get ready for the raw truth: before getting involved with what is now its first source of revenue, Nokia was involved in a bunch of industries!
The Finnish company of Tampere (and now Espoo) produced at one time or another paper products, car and bicycle tires, communications cables, televisions and other consumer electronics, personal computers, electricity generation machinery, robotics, capacitors, military communications and equipment (such as the SANLA M/90 device and the M61 gas mask for the Finnish Army), plastics, aluminium, chemicals and footwear. Yes, you read correctly, footwear!
To make the (boot) story short, the Nokian Footwear story began in 1898, when a group of Finnish business men decided to establish the company Suomen Gummitehdas Oy (Finnish Rubber Works Ltd) in Helsinki. After operating for a few years, the factory began to produce high quality rubber galoshes, which competed successfully against Russian imports.
As production grew, the factory was moved from Helsinki to Nokia. Soon the rubber company began to highlight the name Nokia, communicating Finnishness, in its marketing. Demand for the company’s products grew strongly and the rubber boot became a utility item for the whole nation! And this has been lasting until today!
If you’re a reaaal dyed in the whool Nokia fan, then you won’t resist the temptation of buying your very own pair of Nokia(n) boots and carry your beloved brand wherever you go!
“Nokia, shoe fitting people”
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Source: Nokian boot wear and Wikipedia
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