China’s Xiaomi announced on September 6 (US time) that it has shipped more than 100 million smartphones since it started its business in India five years ago. This is based on IDC statistics, a market research firm.
Xiaomi maintains its top position in the Indian smartphone industry for the eighth consecutive quarter. Inexpensive phones, Redmi and Redmi Note, are said to have sold the most in India. India is the fastest growing place in the world and the second largest smartphone market in the world. Also, most of the handset prices are under $200. Xiaomi has always targeted price-sensitive markets in India from the beginning. According to Xiaomi, there is no product that sets a profit of more than 5% of the hardware sold.
Manu Jain, vice president of Xiaomi’s India business, emphasized that this milestone of 100 million units is a remarkable achievement in that there are brands that entered the market before Xiaomi, but Xiaomi has achieved it.
It is clear that shipping 100 million smartphones in India alone is a big feat for Xiaomi, which is doing business in various markets. Xiaomi last year shipped 100 million smartphones worldwide in 10 months.
With intensifying competition in China and slowing smartphone shipments worldwide, India has become the most important market for Xiaomi. To cut costs in the first two years Xiaomi entered India, mainly smartphones relied on online sales. However, after that, the actual store was secured.
Xiaomi recently announced that it plans to open 10,000 stores in India by the end of the year. By this time, store sales are expected to account for half of sales. It also creates employment for more than 20,000 people in India, most of whom are women.
Smartphones are a big business in India, but Xiaomi has also tried to sell other hardware and build local software services. In recent years, he has been supporting a number of startups, including social network service ShareChat, fintech companies CrazyBee, ZestMoney, and entertainment app developer Hungama.
Samsung Electronics, which once led the Indian smartphone market, launched a variety of price-point devices to enhance its competitiveness with Xiaomi. It is also increasing its marketing budget in India. However, Xiaomi remains here with little to no marketing money. Samsung Electronics entered the Indian market more than 10 years ago and shipped more than 100 million smartphones. Only Samsung Electronics and Xiaomi have achieved the feat of selling 100 million units in the Indian market. Related information can be found here .