On 28 May, the mobile phone brand Honor opened its first global flagship shop in Chengdu’s Kuan Zhai Alley (宽窄巷子). The flagship shop covers a total floor area of 1,000 square metres and blends the architectural style of western Sichuan residences in Kuan Zhai Alley. With green tiles on the roof and green bricks paving the ground, it creates a new landmark that combines history with modernity, and humanity with technology. On opening day, Honor’s spokesperson, film and television star Yang Yang, also made an appearance, generating significant buzz on Weibo.
During the opening, the Honor Chengdu Flagship Store hosted a special event for the Youth Art Festival. 60% of the shop was dedicated to showcasing excellent works from previous editions of the HONOR Talents Global Design Competition, as well as cultural and creative items developed in collaboration with Kuan Zhai Alley. The shop also featured a HONOR Talents panda-themed illustration exhibition, displaying panda drawings created by young people from around the world. This made the national treasure a bridge for cross-cultural exchanges and provided consumers with a globally influenced and artistic journey.
The east square of the shop boasts an image gallery created by Honor and the Parisian photography studio Yagu. Here, consumers can experience the new digital Honor 200 series, which features advanced AI technology. Additionally, the shop hosted an exhibition celebrating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France and the 90th anniversary of Yagu Photography.
In June 2019, Honor opened its first concept shop, Honor LIFE, in Chengdu. The year 2024 marks the first year of Honor’s flagship shop, and by 2025, China plans to accelerate the coverage of flagship shops and Honor LIFE shops in first-tier cities while increasing investment in overseas directly-managed shops. The plan aims to establish more than 1,000 new shops this year.
In the third quarter of last year, Honor returned to the top spot for domestic mobile phone shipments and continues to maintain its leading position. At the beginning of this year, there were rumours of Honor planning an IPO in China.
On 13 June, Honor released the Magic V Flip, a new vertical folding product with a starting price of 4,999 RMB (approx. 689.1 USD). Honor is the first to introduce the industry’s largest 4-inch external screen, which doubles as the main screen in a small folding phone. This move is expected to open a new round of competition in the folding screen mobile phone market. After surpassing Huawei, Honor’s next focus may be on AI technology and opening more shops.
