Corporate China | Weibo: Xiaomi draws kudos from high tech execs

Charismatic Xiaomi co-founder Lei Jun has had huge success getting China's gossipy media to promote his company, and now he's succeeding in getting many of the country's other high-tech leaders to talk about his firm and its trendy smartphones. In the last week alone, Xiaomi's name has cropped up several times in connection with other Internet and tech executives on Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo, often called the Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) of China.

Lei wasn't the only one from Xiaomi tweeting away during the Singles' Day holiday, which is fast becoming China's busiest shopping day of the year. Other company executives who tweeted during that time included Lin Bin, another of Xiaomi's co-founders, and Wei Lai of Xiaomi's marketing department. The most interesting of the posts comes from Lei himself, in which he defends his company to skeptical observers who sometimes doubt his tactics and sales figures.

Xiaomi said it sold more than 500 million yuan (HK$632 million) worth of phones during its Singles' Day promotion with Alibaba, which would equate to around 200,000 phones if one assumes an average price of around 2,500 yuan. That led some to question how Xiaomi was able to offer so many phones when it often runs out of merchandise during its other promotions that are much smaller. Many believe that Xiaomi engages in "hunger marketing", the practice of manipulating supply to create constant product shortages and consumer buzz.

Personally speaking, I would be skeptical not only of Xiaomi's figures but also sales figures from any other Chinese tech start-up, and even many older listed companies. Such firms are masters at inflating their numbers to look impressive, and such practices certainly aren't confined to China. All that said, however, I do have to compliment Lei and Xiaomi on their ability to create such a "cool" image for their product, which is fast becoming a sort of status symbol for hip and trendy youngsters.