Just a week ago we wrote about the Samsung fed up with Xiaomi's results in India and cheap alternatives on many online platforms. According to IDC, Xiaomi became the king of online sales in India in 2017, which was not looked upon favourably by other manufacturers, who dethroned Samsung.
Manu Kumar Jain, Global Vice President and Managing Director of Xiaomi India, told Reuters in an interview that the company will focus on opening stores in 2017 and 2018.It opened its first Mi Home store in May 2017 and currently has 17 Mi Home stores in India.
Last year, Jain said Xiaomi's goal is to open 100 Mi Home stores by mid-2019. Speaking about the current status of its stores, Jain said that the company is on track, in addition to Xiaomi working with other stores, which largely serve customers from stock along with other brands.
Xiaomi has entered the Indian market in time and is aggressively selling its smartphones online. Its strategy is to offer devices with value through flash promotions on major online retail sites such as Amazon India and Flipkart, allowing it to significantly increase its market share in the country. Xiaomi is said to account for around 50 percent of online smartphone sales in India and now the company is boosting its offline sales.
In 2017, Xiaomi launched 8 devices in India, of which Redmi 5A was the cheapest phone, Rs. 4,999 (~$78) and the most expensive was the Mi Mix 2 Rs. 32,999 (~$517). Jain also confirmed that the Indian market will see six to eight new smartphones at various price points this year.
Apart from phones, other smart devices like air purifier, Mi Band 2, Router, or accessories like external battery, earphones, speakers, etc. are also available in the Indian market.This year, Xiaomi plans to expand its offerings with TV, kitchen appliances, scooter, bike, etc.
