How Lei Jun plans to build Xiaomi into a global empire

“I have no interest to be Jobs II or Bezos II,” says Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun. The company has tried for years to shake off the image of a copycat, saying its business model sets it apart from its rivals. “I think Xiaomi’s business model is very different from theirs, even if it has absorbed some of their uniqueness. Ultimately, the Xiaomi business model is an innovation of our own.”

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Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun speaks in an interview at the company's Beijing headquarters (Picture: South China Morning Post)

Karen Chiu

Published: 6:30am, 18 Apr 2018Updated: 8:23am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

As far as reputation goes, there are worse things than being compared to Apple. At a phone launch event in Shanghai last month, CEO Lei Jun embraced the association -- putting photos taken with its new handset side-to-side with those shot on the iPhone X.

The Chinese gadget maker -- once the world’s most valuable startup -- has tried for years to shake off its stigma as a copycat. But it’s hard to miss the intentional resemblance between Xiaomi and Apple products.

Its shops -- with off-white walls and phones neatly aligned on long oak tables -- look strikingly similar to Apple stores. Even Lei himself once appeared on stage dressed almost exactly like late Apple founder Steve Jobs.

It’s an approach that garnered plenty of criticism, notably from Apple’s design chief Jonathan Ive. When asked about Xiaomi in 2014, his response was blunt: “I think it’s theft, and it’s lazy.”

Lei says that he’s different, and so is Xiaomi.