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Friday, 30 November 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Nisthar Cassim
Forget geopolitics and its undercurrents as Sri Lanka yesterday saw the launch of India’s number one selling smartphone brand, China’s Xiaomi, which has risen to become the world’s fourth largest brand in seven years for its philosophy of ‘innovation for everyone’.
The entry, seemingly aggressive with six superior quality yet affordable models launched, was via Xiaomi India and follows its foray into Bangladesh and Nepal a few months earlier. In India Xiaomi is the number one smartphone brand, a feat first achieved in the third quarter of 2017 and maintained thus far for five consecutive quarters. In third quarter of 2018, it sold 11 million phones in India and commands a 27% share in a market cluttered with hundreds of brands.
Xiaomi India Managing Director and Vice President Xiaomi Global Manu Jain said that Xiaomi, although originating in China, is now a multinational brand present in over 70 countries, with it within the top five brands in 30 markets. Globally it is the fourth largest smartphone brand with a 10% market share, garnered since its foray into mobile handsets in 2011.
Founded in April 2010 and listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Xiaomi is an internet company with smartphones and smart hardware connected by an IoT platform at its core. Revenue in 2017 was $ 15 billion, a milestone achieved faster than Facebook, Google or Alibaba.
Jain told the Daily FT that the entry into Sri Lanka took time as Xiaomi had to prepare well since Sri Lanka was a relatively developed market with a higher per capita income within the Indian subcontinent.
He expressed confidence of success in Sri Lanka as Xiaomi has a four-pronged strategy of launching the latest of the products with “honest pricing” for customers, extensive service network and Lankan operations to be spearheaded by local leadership.
Six models launched including the latest Redmi Note 6 Pro, its first ever quad-camera phone and speed superior POCOPHONE F1, and will be available at half the cost or less as against similar models of competitors from next week.
