TVs are next after Xiaomi extends India smartphone market lead
Xiaomi has won market share by selling its products at cost, or with a profit margin of just 1 or 2 per cent
The Beijing-based consumer electronics maker shipped more than 9 million smartphones in the first three months to India, a 155 per cent gain over the year-earlier period and translating to a 31 per cent market share, according to Canalys, the research firm. That compares with Samsung’s below 7.5 million units. Two other Chinese smartphone brands, Oppo and Vivo, took third and fourth places, respectively.
“Xiaomi is becoming a force to be reckoned with in India,” said Canalys Research analyst Ishan Dutt. “Apart from being some of the best value devices on the market, Xiaomi’s smartphones are now available in more places and in larger quantities. All in all, Xiaomi’s product and channel strategies are working.”
The company recently introduced the Redmi 5 series of phones in the market. The Redmi 5A sold 3.5 million unit sales in the quarter with 1.5 million for Samsung’s best-selling J7 Nxt.
Xiaomi is becoming a force to be reckoned with in India
Xiaomi, which means millet in Chinese, sells its products at cost, or with a profit margin of 1 or 2 per cent, according to founder Lei Jun. He is so proud of the strategy that he wants to write it into Xiaomi’s corporate mission statement to lock it down, and avoid anyone “messing with it after 50 years.”
