Huawel takes on Apple with more China flagship stores

Aggressive move to retake crown for premium electronics as it rebounds from US sanctions

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HONG KONG Huawei is revamping its retail strategy and aggressively opening flagship stores in China, with some just a stone's throw away from Apple shops, as it seeks to retake the premium electronics throne in the world's biggest smartphone market.

Situated directly across from Apple's flagship store in Shanghai, Huawei's recently renovated shop spans three floors of a famous heritage architecture building in the financial hub's shopping district and includes a coffee shop and a gym.

Huawei opened four such stores in major Chinese cities between December and February, an aggressive marketing blitz by a company that had largely relied on licensed distributors.

The company is rebounding from US sanctions imposed in 2019. The sanctions crippled its smartphone business for four years until it could source domestic replacement parts.

"The Huawei flagship store is very nice. It looks much brighter inside compared with the Apple Store across the street," said Ms Amy Chen, 27, a physiotherapist who visited the Shanghai store this week to switch to Huawei's topend Pura 70 Ultra from the iPhone 15 Pro in the hope for better mobile reception.

Apple has 47 stores in mainland China. Huawei, which did not open a flagship store until 2019, now has 11 of them.