Syed Imran Haider 
Huawei’s goal is to retake the premium electronics throne in the biggest smartphone market in the world.
Therefore, it is aggressively revamping its retail strategy. This is evident from the number of flagship stores it is opening in China, some of which are close to that of its rival, Apple Inc.
The stores
Huawei recently renovated its shop, which is located directly across from the Shanghai flagship store of Apple.
It is in a famous heritage architecture building and spans three floors. It is located in the busy shopping district of the financial hub and includes a gym and a coffee shop.
Between December and February, Huawei opened four similar store in some of the major cities in China. Previously, the company had relied on license distributors.
However, the US imposed sanctions on it in 2019 and it has launched this aggressive marketing blitz to rebound from their impact.
For four years, the company’s smartphone business was crippled until it was able to source replacement parts domestically.
Visitors who have checked out the Huawei flagship store were full of appreciation for it. Some called it brighter than Apple’s.
The total number of Apple Stores in mainland China is 47. Huawei opened its first store in the country in 2019 and its number has now increased to 11.
According to experts, the company needs to open more than 20 to be able to catch up to Apple.
The changes
This is in stark contrast to 2021 when all licensed stores of Huawei in China were shut down because US sanctions resulted in product shortages.
Since then, Huawei has developed its own chips and has also launched 5G-capable products that are immensely popular.
In addition, sources say that in recent months, the company has been recruiting dealers rather aggressively.
Distributors are taking interest in purchasing Huawei devices once more. This is because the company can now ship in large quantities and also has good profit margin.
Previously, many distributors had been unable to get stock and 4G device sales were unimpressive.
The efforts
Huawei has been bargaining with distributors actively and has touted the profit margins of its phone, which are above industry average.
In fact, sometimes Huawei also demands exclusionary clauses for turning distributors into exclusive partners.
In the first 10 months of 2023, the number of stores licensed to sell Huawei products climbed to 5,200. More than 50% of these were in third and fourth-tier cities.
This has helped Huawei in expanding its number of distribution partners in the country. These marketing efforts are a big challenge to Apple.
The iPhone maker saw its sales in China decline by 6.6% in the first quarter to reach 10.8 million. In comparison, the first quarter saw Huawei increase its shipments to 11.7 million.
This is an increase of 110% and allowed the company to take the position of the second smartphone vendor in China, replacing Apple.
The company’s new phones are getting solid reviews. It shows that the company wants to compete With Apple in selling premium products.
