Huawei Takes Revenge, More Violent
Kick iPhone in China
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Huawei opened a number of new stores in several regions in China. Uniquely, this shop is not far from the Apple store.
Huawei’s store in Shanghai is opposite Apple’s store. The three-story building is located in the busiest shopping district. There are many coffee shops and gyms in the area.
Huawei has had 11 stores since it first opened in 2019, compared to Apple’s 47 stores in the country. The number of Huawei stores is expected to continue to increase in order to capture the premium market in China.
“I think they will open more than 20 (stores). Next they will go after Apple,” said Counterpoint Associate Director, Ethan Qi, quoted by Reuters, Thursday (16/5/2024).
Sanctions imposed by the United States (US) several years ago forced Huawei to close its licensed stores in 2021. However, the company ended up recruiting many dealers in the last few months.
“Now Huawei is recording high sales of cellphones. This is because the profit margin given by distributors is quite large because they want to buy more Huawei devices. Previously, many couldn’t get stock and 4G devices didn’t sell,” said Ethan Qi.
Reports from two sources reveal that Huawei is also bargaining with many distributors. The company even asked to make Huawei its exclusive partner.
From January to October 2023, 5,200 shops have permits to sell Huawei products. Half of this amount is available in third and fourth tier cities to expand the distribution reach of its products.
This could be a threat to Apple, whose sales have been declining since last year. iPhone sales in China plunged 19% year-on-year (yoy) in the first quarter (Q1) 2024, according to a report by research firm Counterpoint.
Previously, a report by the firm IDC reported that global iPhone sales also fell 9.6% yoy in Q1 2024.
Reuters reported that Apple slumped because it faced competition from Huawei, which rose since last year after launching the Mate 60 series.
Apple’s market share in China fell to 15.7% in Q1 2024 from the previous 19.7%. This caused Apple to face Huawei, whose sales rose 70% yoy.
Source : CNBC INDONESIA
