Xiaomi entered the Indian smartphone market in July 2014. Since then, the Chinese OEM has seen years of incredible growth. Although there have been some hiccups along the way, Xiaomi is now either the first or second largest smartphone manufacturer in India, depending on who you ask. That’s no small feat by itself, as Xiaomi is competing with technology giant Samsung for top spot. However, even more astonishing thing is that Xiaomi’s accomplishments were achieved by relying primarily on online sales instead of offline retail.
The company pioneered the flash sales model where smartphones are available online for as little as a few seconds before going out of stock because of demand being higher than supply. Xiaomi’s online sales approach has been successful to a large extent, as its phones are online bestsellers in India’s biggest e-commerce platforms. Its own Mi.com portal has seen a large amount of online sales, and the company is the number one online smartphone brand in the country.
However, on the other hand, it has had a negligible presence in offline retail, an area where Oppo, Vivo, and Samsung have traditionally dominated. This has meant that a lot of consumers don’t even know about Xiaomi’s brand, and the company was leaving sales on the table by neglecting the offline retail sector.
To rectify the problem, Xiaomi has been working on expanding its offline retail channels in the past couple of years. It has opened brick-and-mortar Mi Home stores in several cities, and is working with offline retailers under the Mi Preferred Partner program. Most of the company’s phones are now available on large format retailers like Croma, Vijay Sales, etc, and according to reports, offline sales of its products are increasing.
It also clearly isn’t in any mood to slow down its momentum. According to an NDTV Gadgets report, Xiaomi told reports in Indore that it is drawing plans to boost its offline sales in India which is a key market for the company. The report noted that as of now, online sales account for 80% of the company’s smartphone business.
Xiaomi’s India Head of Online Sales, Raghu Reddy, stated: “At present, about 80% of our business is from online sales of mobile phones, but now we want to increase penetration in the offline market to increase our business.” He added that the company will increase the number of exclusive stores and other retail sale centers in different cities of the country in the coming days.
Recently, Xiaomi launched the Redmi 5A in India at an introductory price tag of ₹4,999 (applicable for the first five million units sold) for the 2GB RAM and 16GB storage variant. The device went on sale for the first time this week, and is being marketed as ‘Desh ka Smartphone.‘ It features a decent list of specifications for the price, including a 5-inch HD (1280×720) display and a 13MP rear camera. The Redmi 5A comes in Dark Grey, Gold, and Rose Gold colour variants. It’s available on Flipkart and Mi.com, and will also be available via offline retailers soon.
Source: NDTV Gadgets
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