Withings To Return After Nokia Sell-off

Image copyright Nokia

Nokia is to sell its health division back to the founder of Withings, a company it acquired in 2016.

The Withings brand name is set to return following the sale, reversing the Finnish company's decision to axe it.

The business was founded in 2008 and makes connected health devices such as watches and weighing scales.

The sale to company founder Eric Carreel for an undisclosed sum comes after poor earnings for Nokia Health.

In a statement posted on the Nokia website Mr Carreel announced his intention to bring back the Withings brand, maintaining coverage for the company's products.

"I will prepare the return of the Withings brand by the end of the year. I assure you, whether you have been with us for one day or throughout the years, your digital health products and services will continue to be supported," he wrote.

An industry expert commented on the changing fortunes of Nokia's health division.

"It looked like Nokia had snapped a bargain when they bought Withings but it's very expensive to build a brand centred on health. With the benefit of hindsight, Nokia's rebrand may have been a mistake," Ben Wood, an industry analyst at CSS Insight, told the BBC.

He added that the landscape in wearable heath had changed dramatically in the two years since Withings was sold to Nokia.

"You've got lots of competition from Chinese companies. Margins are being cut," he said.