India has emerged as the top priority for electronics and software maker Xiaomi – even more than the Chinese market – and it is ready to replicate its domestic success here. India supports analogous purchasing power in a similarly sized population of 1.4 billion consumers obsessed with cost-effective electronic gadgets, according to Xiaomi founder and chief executive Lei Jun.
“We have adopted the India No 1 strategy, which includes design, research and development, manufacturing and supply,” Lei told Indian business daily Mint this week. He said India was one of the best performers among its 60 markets in terms of shipment and scale of work, although Xiaomi has never released revenue numbers for the country.
“Even the Chinese [Xiaomi] teams had some opinions as everything was prioritised for India. We became No. 1 because our company is small, so we focus all our energy on India. That’s why we have really supported India on the supply front,” Lei said to China Tech when asked whether Xiaomi was giving India priority over its home market in China.
The company will establish a research centre in Bangalore and will hire more local engineers to build India-specific products that cater to the needs and preferences of local users. Many of these products will not sell in China, and staff members from other markets have been sent to India to support the local team.
Lei said Xiaomi will eventually sell about 200 products to Indian consumers in the next three to four years. The company already offers about 200 products – smartphones to home appliances – in China, but only sells about 20 products in India.
“India is becoming a bigger priority compared to China in certain aspects. For example, research for making India-focused products and supply and stock for product lines sold in India,” a spokesperson said after Lei’s interview with Mint was published.
In October, Xiaomi had already completed its targets of 100 billion yuan (US$15.07 billion) in sales and 70 million smartphone shipments for the year. Lei told Mint the company wanted to ship 100 million handsets next year.
