Siemens drops Xelibri fashion line

Siemens has dropped the sale of fashionable mobile phones under the Xelibri brand. The line has now been stopped after selling just 780,000 devices - less than 2% of Siemens' total handset sales - in 2003. The Xelibri phones had to be introduced in collections of four phones every spring and autumn, with limited quantities and distribution through fashion boutiques and department stores.

The strategy failed for a number of reasons. The phones didn't succeed to draw the attention of fashion fans with design and prices. At time, when users were able to get good-looking handsets with advanced features like cameras, MP3 players, color screens and others from their carriers at subsidized prices, the company offered chick phones, which were equipped with the standard features only and were costing EUR 200 to EUR 400.

Nevertheless, Siemens continues to target the market with more traditional devices. The company recently started a limited edition fashion version of its popular SL55 model in cooperation with luxury goods firm Escada AG. The phone, from which around 2,000 units were made available, features a silk cord turning the handset into an accessory, a color display, polyphonic ring tones and voice commands.