Huawei brand stores in Russia recently faced a surprising shift: while the shops remain physically open, visitors often cannot see or purchase the core products they expect. Reports from Kommersant, based on internal sources, indicate that basic models of phones and laptops are not being displayed for sale to customers, signaling a unique and unsettled retail situation. This performance gap has become a focal point in the ongoing discussion about Huawei’s operations in the Russian market.
The central issue appears to be a frictional dispute between the Moscow-based store management company and the manufacturer itself. Sources cited by Kommersant describe a pause in direct product deliveries to company-owned stores, with no immediate plan ready to resume regular supply. In practical terms, this has left showrooms with empty shelves where flagship devices and a broader range of electronics used to be available for purchase, complicating the buyer experience and undermining consumer confidence.
As a result, it is now difficult for customers to obtain laptops, phones, and many other popular items that were previously on display and available for sale within Huawei stores. Legal experts are quoted explaining that, under these conditions, customers generally do not retain the right to demand the immediate sale of items showcased in the storefronts. This nuance underscores how much the current in-store reality diverges from ordinary retail expectations and consumer rights in a normal purchase scenario.
Several Huawei company-operated stores across major cities—Moscow locations such as Afimoll, Aviapark, and Gagarinsky, as well as stores in Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, and Tyumen—remain open to the public, but most products are labeled as not for sale or seen as demo samples. A Kommersant correspondent notes that, in some stores, accessories like headphones, protective cases, and glasses might still be purchasable, yet the broad catalog remains off-limits to buyers. Management has not publicly stated when normal sales are expected to resume, leaving staff and customers in a state of practical uncertainty about the timeline and scope of restored commerce.
Earlier reports indicated that Huawei had planned to start operations at 10 am on August 1, but that plan was overtaken by developments that led to the temporary shutdown of the official Russian online store, Vmall. The company suspended sales through its Vmall platform and the Vmall mobile app, further constraining access to products for the Russian consumer base and intensifying the impact on both brick-and-mortar stores and digital storefronts. This dual constraint—physical showroom limitations and an offline/online sales blackout—reflects broader strategic considerations and logistical challenges facing Huawei in the region, as described by industry observers and corroborated by multiple news outlets cited by Kommersant.