New Delhi, September 1: Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi, often referred as the “Apple of China”, is a fairly new player in the Indian smartphone market. The company entered the country a couple of months ago with its Mi3 smartphone, and has achieved a phenomenal success despite being the newcomer on the block.
The company’s go to market strategy has been an exclusive partnership with Flipkart, which so far the has led to the sale of over 95,000 devices since its launch in the month of July. To further its understanding and hold in the Indian market, Xiaomi has hired Jabong co-founder Manu Kumar Jain to head its India operations. In an exclusive interaction with Channetimes, Jain shared his vision and plans for the Indian market. Excerpts..
CT: What were your expectations when you entered the Indian market?
Jain: Our initial plans was to sell 20,000 devices in two weeks. I guess our work in the Indian market is at experimental stage and things happened much faster than we expected.
CT: Why sell devices only through the online route? Do you have any plans to tie up with traditional IT and telecom retailers?
Jain: Our DNA is very much different from others. We believe in saving costs at every single nodal point and pass on the direct benefits to the consumer. In case of selling through a distributor or micro distributor, I will be forced to give 20% or 30% margin to retailers and ultimately the price of the device will be going up. Hence, we decided to partner with Flipkart for our devices.
CT: What moves have you made to ensure great after sales service for Xiaomi devices?
Jain: We have been working to provide hassle free replacement to customers having problems with their handsets. We have also worked on ways where customers can get their products replaced or changed through Flipkart easily. Xiaomi is also planning to set up a Mi Home experience zone in Bangalore within a time frame of four to six months. The firm has already come up with Mi service centers in Delhi and Bangalore to provide after sales service.
CT: What other products do you have lined up to cash in on the festive season rush?
Jain: We will soon be launching REDMI S and REDMI Note, but we have these two – REDMI and MI3 – as our first priorities. The Xiaomi Mi4 will be in the country by the end of this year. We also planning to launch a slew of offerings such as the Mi Pad tablet and the Mi Band health centric band in India. Of the trio, the flagship handset is likely to launch post Diwali.