Flash sales, social media savvy helped Xiaomi topple Samsung as India’s No 1 smartphone supplier
Chinese technology start-up Xiaomi plans to double sales in India to about US$2 billion this year, but quickly building up supply to meet fast-growing demand remains a challenge
After five failed attempts over the past month, Indian college student Bhavsar Hardik recently succeeded in placing an online order for his dream smartphone – the Redmi Note 5 Pro from Xiaomi.
The handset “looks like the iPhone X”, he said.
The 19-year-old Hardik is one of many in the country now hooked on the flash sales that Xiaomi conducts through domestic online channels like Flipkart and Amazon India, as well as its own Mi.com site. These flash sales run for less than three seconds each time, so only a few people get their orders through for any device up for grabs.
Hardik said demand for Xiaomi smartphones was huge, but there was short supply in the market. Despite that limitation, Hardik said he remains a big Xiaomi fan because its smartphones deliver good quality at an affordable price.
“I don’t like Samsung because it costs too much just for the name of the brand; same with Apple, Vivo, and Oppo,” he said.
His Redmi Note 5 Pro costs 13,999 rupees (US$215), while the cheapest starting price for the iPhone X in India is 83,499 rupees.
Millions of Indian consumers like Hardik helped vault Xiaomi to prominence in the world’s second-largest smartphone market.