Xiaomi already has a presence in 18,000 offline locations in India, and it plans to expand its offline reach even more. After years of focusing on e-commerce sales, Xiaomi’s India chief, Muralikrishnan B., says the company wants to recover its smartphone sales, which have fallen behind rival Samsung in India, according to Reuters.
Muralikrishnan noted in an interview, “Our market position offline is significantly lower than what it is online.” Offline, you have other competitors that have been executing quite well and have a higher market share.” Notably, there are 600 million smartphone users in India. However, only 44% of smartphone sales in India are done online; the vast bulk of sales are still done in physical stores.
According to Counterpoint Research, retail shops accounted for 34% of Xiaomi’s revenues this year. However, Samsung, Xiaomi’s competitor, earns 57% of its sales from offline retailers.
Xiaomi
As competition becomes less intense, Xiaomi India’s head says the business will now cooperate with phone sellers to offer other goods such as Xiaomi TV or security cameras. The corporation plans to grow its store network in India beyond the current 18,000 stores. He went on to say that some stores have been caught selling rival brands prominently while displaying Xiaomi logo. This marketing problem will be addressed by the company.
According to Counterpoint Research, Xiaomi has lost its position in the country to Samsung. In India, Samsung presently has a 20% market share, while Xiaomi has a 16% market share. According to Counterpoint analyst Tarun Pathak, “offline remains a key platform as India embraces the premiumisation trend.” Consumers who spend more want the look and feel of a luxury product.”
The CEO of Xiaomi India has revealed that the business will now engage additional shop promoters – salesmen who entice, pitch, and sell phones to customers within stores. It aims to triple the number of promoters to 12,000 by the end of next year, compared to early 2023 levels.
