Xiaomi, Chinese smartphone maker, this week claimed that it anticipates 30% of its sales in the country to come through offline shops by end of this year. The firm, which forayed into the market of India by trading its smartphones only online, has been slowly increasing up its offline attendance via partners. “Offline is developing at a quick speed for us. In July–August this year, almost 20% of our trades were arriving via offline stores. We expect this will elevate to 30% early next year or by end of the year,” Manu Kumar Jain, Xiaomi India Head, claimed to the reporters in an interview last week here.
Xiaomi trades its goods via offline channels such as multi-brand outlets, large format stores, and its own Mi Homes. “In addition to a number of retail points, we are also well heading in the right direction with the growth of our Mi Homes. We had claimed that in 2 years, we will have 100 of those and 9 are already in position,” Jain claimed. Xiaomi, which battles with the likes of Lenovo, Samsung, Oppo, and Vivo in India, had previously this year claimed that it hopes to post incomes in excess of $2 Billion (almost Rs 12,867 Crore) from its India processes this year, increasing its topline 2x as compared to 2016.
On a similar note, Xiaomi this week rolled out a new series of smartphone with two devices, Redmi Y1 Lite and Redmi Y1, aimed at selfie fans. The devices will battle with those from the bags of Vivo and Oppo and are having a price tag of Rs 6,999 and more. In addition to this, it has also revealed the worldwide version of its OS MIUI 9 that comprises new features developed for India. “Redmi Y1 is our first handset in India that has a Selfie-light. This, coupled with a 16 MP front facing shooter, makes sure selfies come out clear and bright even in difficult conditions,” Jain claimed. Redmi Y1 Lite sports 2 GB RAM, 5.5-inch display, 13 MP rear camera, 16 GB internal storage, 3,080 mAh battery, and 5 MP front snapper. It has a price of Rs 6,999.