Huawei opens first flagship store in France despite Google cut-off

Losing access to Google services hasn’t stopped Huawei from trying to woo European phone users. The Chinese giant recently opened its first flagship store in France, located in Paris. The shop carries a range of Huawei products, including phones and laptops. 

It’s not the Chinese giant’s first European store: It already has outlets in Madrid, Barcelona and Milan. The new location comes as Huawei is planning more investment in the continent despite concerns that the Chinese government can use its equipment to spy -- an allegation that Huawei has repeatedly denied. The company is planning a factory in France to make 4G and 5G wireless equipment. 

Huawei has been building an alternative app ecosystem ever since it was blacklisted by the US last year and cut off from critical Google apps and services. But some analysts remain skeptical that customers outside of China will take a chance on smartphones without Google services preinstalled, such as the Google Play app store, Google Maps or YouTube.