Honor Device Co Ltd said its workforce will increase by 30 to 40 percent this year, despite the overall decline in the smartphone market.

The announcement came as Honor unveiled its latest smartphone Honor 70 series to expand its presence in the high-end smartphone market and continue its marketing campaign for the June 18 online shopping festival.

According to market research company Counterpoint, from the sixth week of 2022 to the present domestic smartphone sales have declined for 10 consecutive weeks, but Honor's phone sales have grown strongly with an average weekly growth of 132 percent year-on-year.

Zhao Ming, CEO of Honor, said Honor's offline retail channels account for more than 70 percent of its total sales, and the company will increase its offline stores from more than 2,000 to about 3,000 within this year.

This year is a crucial moment for Honor to make an ambitious comeback in overseas markets, Zhao said, including the Middle East, Europe and the Asia-Pacific.