India comes to Xiaomi’s aid, just in time

Photo credit: Mi India.

A couple of months ago, we told you how Xiaomi has been kung fu kicked from first place down to fourth in China. After the shocker on its home turf, the Chinese startup seems to have found some respite in neighboring India.

In an open letter today to the Xiaomi family and fanclub, founder and CEO Lei Jun announced that the company sold 1 million smartphones in 18 days – October 1 to 18 – in the nation, and thanked India profusely for the “incredible record.”

Here are the milestones Lei Jun celebrated:

• Xiaomi set up a manufacturing unit in India in August 2015 as part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
• IDC data for July to August placed Xiaomi as the top online smartphone brand in India.
• Xiaomi became the third-largest smartphone vendor in India last month, with 8.4 percent market share.

“We will continue investing in India… We will be able to capture the largest market share in India within three to five years,” Lei Jun said.

One Team, One Dream, One Million! Dream @XiaomiIndia team that pulled off a miracle of selling 1 Million phones 18 days. Thanks all pic.twitter.com/DMuyG3pWOF

— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) October 19, 2016

Chinese phones have been surging ahead in India lately, with shipments up 28 percent in April to June, says IDC. Lenovo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Gionee are leading the charge, with Huawei catching up too.

It comes as Chinese brands conquer their home market. Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo are the top three right now.

With Samsung stumbling in the wake of its Galaxy Note 7 catching fire, Chinese phones are selling fast. For Xiaomi in India, the main threat now comes from China, as Huawei and Oppo become familiar names in India serving different segments. They will pounce on any stumble from Xiaomi.

See: In a grim year, Xiaomi’s India sales numbers offer hope

This post India comes to Xiaomi’s aid, just in time appeared first on Tech in Asia.

from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/xiaomi-india-record-1-million-smartphones-sold-in-18-days
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