Smartphone manufacturer Vivo committed to expanding its number of experience-led flagship stores in India, as it opened its fourth and largest to date in Ahmedabad.

Announcing the opening of the store, which covers 7,000 square feet over three floors, the company explained it will provide an immersive retail experience to customers in one of its largest markets in the country.

The “experiential flagship” outlets provide various activity zones, customer support and promote new products.

Vivo India head of corporate strategy Geetaj Channana said it will “add more experiential stores in other tier-1 cities as part of our long-term focus to offer immersive retail experience to our consumers”.

By 2024, it plans to have a network of ten similar locations open. Alongside the premium stores, it has a network of 650 shops in the country exclusively selling its goods.

The move comes in the wake of a period where it has booked significant growth in the Indian market.

In preliminary IDC shipment figures for Q2, Vivo was the only top five vendor to register year-on-year increases in India, with its 7.4 per cent jump taking it beyond Samsung into first place by market share.

However, the Chinese manufacturer’s rise in the country has not been without its issues.

The company was previously named in a list of Chinese vendors reportedly accused of underpaying duty, and in 2022 its local offices were searched by authorities prompting a strong response from the Chinese embassy in India.