A flagship store of Huawei Photo: VCG

 
Huawei announced on Wednesday that it will rename its “consumer business” as its “terminal business,” marking a foray into the commercial sector and an effort to find more government and enterprise customers. The company has seen its consumer smartphone sales suffer amid bans on its use of US components.

Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei’s Consumer BG, said during a new product release conference on Wednesday that the renamed terminal business will have two branches. One will provide products targeting the public and the other will focus on government and enterprise customers.

“Huawei’s consumer business sector was heavily affected by the US sanctions and they are making an effort to turn things around,” Jiang Junmu, a Shanghai-based veteran industry expert and close follower of Huawei, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

The move will allow the company to reach more customers and find more revenue sources, Jiang said. 

Last year, Huawei’s revenue from its consumer business, which used to be the firm's main source of income, fell 49.6 percent year-on-year to 243.4 billion yuan. Revenue for the Chinese telecommunications giant declined by a steep 28.6 percent last year, largely due to a drop in its smartphone business, as US sanctions continued to bite into the company. 

“The digitalization of global business is providing Huawei with a valuable opportunity that can help it to duplicate the success it has in the consumer business in the new commercial business sector,” said Jiang.

Huawei has developed more types of products in recent years, ranging from laptops and tablets to smart screens and wearable devices, in an effort to find more sources of income and shake off the effects of the US ban.