Xiaomi to enter 10 new countries as expansion accelerates
Xiaomi, the four-year-old smartphone maker that outsells Apple in China, plans to enter 10 more countries this year as it accelerates international expansion.
Xiaomi, the four-year-old smartphone maker that outsells Apple in China, plans to enter 10 more countries this year as it accelerates international expansion.
Sales will start in nations including India, Brazil and Russia, Lei Jun, Xiaomi's founder and chief executive officer, said in Beijing yesterday. The other markets announced by Lei are Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
The maker of smartphones, televisions and routers is broadening its range of consumer electronics and expanding overseas to build on existing sales in its home market of mainland China as well as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
Xiaomi keeps costs down by selling directly to consumers online and Lei has set a goal of boosting sales fivefold to 100 million phones in 2015.
"You can certainly call this an acceleration," president and co-founder Bin Lin said after the event. "It's our mission and our belief that this model should be able to achieve some level of success outside China."
The company recorded 1.5 billion yuan (HK$1.88 billion) in orders during a one-day web sale in mainland China on April 8, and is now the nation's third-largest e-commerce site, the company said.