NEW DELHI: Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi is aiming to have at least one Xiaomi product in every household in India in the next three years, said India President Muralikrishnan B. Muralikrishnan, while interacting with the media before its Redmi Note 13 series, was very elated after the success of the company’s reset, refresh, and recharge strategy in 2023. Last year turned out to be very good for the company as its products received a positive response, especially the Redmi 12 5G, Redmi Note 12 5G, and Xiaomi Pad 6.
“Wouldn’t it be amazing? Definitely. For us, if every household in India were to have at least one Xiaomi product. It’s not always supposed that there are many households that might not have a home but have a television, our power banks, our air purifiers, our robot vacuum cleaners, and so on and so forth,” said Muralikrishnan B. While discussing its strategy for 2024, Muralikrishnan B. said that the company would focus on an end-to-end premiumization play, an integrated smartphone Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) offering, and an omnichannel strategy both online and offline.
He also emphasized that the company’s goal is to become the most beloved and trusted smartphone brand for aspirational Indians. According to him, premiumization is not just about selling expensive devices priced at Rs 60,000 or Rs 70,000; rather, it is about providing significant value to customers for the amount they invest.
“We don’t want to be just loved and trusted; we want to be the preferred choice for this large segment of customers. We aim to achieve this by focusing on innovation and pioneering technology. Therefore, our goal is to be the most preferred and pioneering smartphone and IoT brand for aspirational Indians.”The smartphone brand had maintained its leading position in the Indian market for many years in India.
However, post-2020, the brand faced challenges due to government scrutiny, leading to a loss of its top spot to competitors such as Samsung. Xiaomi’s market share declined to 17% in October-December 2022, down from 21% in Q1 2022, according to Canalys. Amidst the overall market downturn, one contributing factor to Xiaomi’s decline in shipments and market share was identified as its cluttered portfolio of phones.
Recently, the company entered into a partnership with domestic manufacturer Dixon Technologies to produce its smartphones in India. Muralikrishnan mentioned that the company has been manufacturing in India since 2017 and has already been exporting to neighboring countries, including the UAE.