The British government recently banned the use of Huawei’s 5G equipment in the U.K. However, it appears that this is not stopping Huawei from doing business in the country. Recently the company announced plans to open three new experience stores in the UK. The report pointed out that Huawei plans to spend about 10 million pounds to open three stores in London and Manchester. It will also open the first batch of private label shops on High Street in the UK. Huawei stated that it will create more than 100 jobs in the region.
According to Huawei’s plan, the first store will open in London Olympic Park, Stratford, London in October 2020. This will be followed by the opening of a dedicated retail space and service center in Manchester. According to the schedule, this retail space and service center will open in February 2021.
Furthermore, London will have another Huawei experience store, the schedule says it will open in 2021. The company already has a Huawei service center in Wembley, London, which opened in June this year.
Huawei said the purpose of these new “Huawei Experience Stores” is to enable consumers to interact with a range of Huawei products, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, headphones, smartwatches, fitness bracelets, speakers, etc. The official said that the new Huawei experience store and service center opened in the UK, shows Huawei’s confidence in the UK market.
Gizchina News of the week
Recent reports on Huawei
Most recently, Huawei has been in the news for multiple reasons. Firstly, the U.K banned the Chinese company from its 5G network despite the fact that it will need up to £1 billion to completely eliminate Huawei from its network. Subsequently, the Chinese tech giant responded by saying the U.K is only bowing to the needs of the US and it is not about security issues. Furthermore, there were also reports that the U.S. is threatening to impose a visa restriction on Huawei employes. In this regard, Huawei’s disappointment is high. It claims that its employees work towards the development of technology globally. They do not deserve to experience such restrictions.
Despite all these, the company is doing well in all ramifications. Its businesses are thriving whether it is the smartphone, 5G, or its internet business. Most recently, it toppled Samsung to become the world’s largest 5G smartphone company in terms of shipment. According to South Korean SK securities estimate, Huawei’s 55 million shipments are ahead of Samsung’s 51 million units. This record is for the second quarter of 2020 (April – June). This is coming after it displaced Samsung as the top smartphone company globally for April and May 2020. Interestingly, there are still some major economies that are not banning Huawei despite the pressure from the U.S.
Furthermore, the tech giant has decided to fight back the U.S. and gained what it has lost from American companies. The Chinese manufacturer has a huge patent bank and no doubt, it must have cases against American companies if it looks closely. Now, American companies like HP, Verizon, and Cisco will be the first to meet Huawei in court. Most likely, these will not be the last American tech companies to battle it out with the Chinese manufacturer in court.