Samsung is strengthening its presence in Russia with the acquisition of 40 Nokia-branded shops across the country, previously owned by Russian retailer Nosimo. "The work on the acquisition of 40 Nokia-branded handset shops in Russia has been completed in the third quarter (Q3)," a Samsung official tolda Maeil Business Newspaper on Sunday. "We plan to secure additional distribution footholds in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries of Russia."

Russian retailer Nosimo had previously a contract with struggling Nokia to sell Nokia-only products at its shops. Nosimo?s Nokia shops had taken up 10 percent of Nokia's total sales for a decade.

Samsung has also added its mobile phone stores to 50 in major cities in Russia including Moscow and Vladivostok, securing over 90 distribution channels in Russia.

According to latest data released by Strategy Analytics, Nokia holds the 3.9 percent of the market share in Q3, lagging behind Samsung and Apple.