SHINE | 26-Jun-2020 | By Zhu Shenshen
Huawei Technologies opened its biggest flagship store in the world in Shanghai on Thursday, displaying smartphones, tablets, TVs and various consumer electronics and cars.
The new store on Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall covers nearly 5,000 square meters and has 220 full-time staff. “The Shanghai store is beyond sales and revenue only,” said Herman Zhu, chief marketing officer of Huawei’s consumer business group. “It not only connects consumers, developers and local artists, but also connects history, art, technology and the future.”
Huawei’s store is in a building built in 1935 by Silas Aaron Hardoon, a British real estate tycoon. Huawei hopes it will become a place where people can have fun, learn, share and innovate. Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, the store opened as originally scheduled, Zhu said, thanks to landlord and local government support. Huawei completes a trio of the world’s top smartphone vendors with Apple and Samsung already having flagship stores in the area.
In the Huawei store, visitors can access new technologies such as 5G and artificial intelligence. Featured products and innovations include foldable smartphones, car connection, smart speakers to control home appliances, digital wallet and card services, and intelligent toothbrushes offering feedback on smartphones. Products from other manufacturers also feature, such as a Volvo car, a Bosch refrigerator, a 360 robotic cleaner and home appliances from Midea, most of which can connect with Huawei’s smartphones or smart speakers.
By March, Huawei’s 5G smartphone sales reached 15 million units, topping the rankings with a 55.4 percent share in China. Huawei now has over 10,000 stores and authorized outlets in China, including two flagship stores in Shenzhen and the new one in Shanghai. Tony Rong, Huawei’s global retail department director, said the company will be opening flagship stores in more of China’s major cities, including Beijing and Guangzhou.
Globally, stores are planned in Germany, Russia and the United Arab Emirates to add to existing stores in London, Paris and Barcelona, Rong said.
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