Xiaomi's offline market share jumps to 20%; forays into Rs 25K category

On the back of Mi Homes and partner stores, share up from 0.5% in Q1 2017 to 20% by Q4 2018

On the back of a growing number of its flagship and partner stores in 100 cities, leading smartphone brand Xiaomi has seen its offline market share in India jump from 0.5 per cent in Q1 2017 to 20 per cent in Q4 2018.

The rise in offline market share has also meant that Xiaomi's online:offline ratio shift from 95:5 in 2017 to 65:35 in 2019. Having now launched its Redmi K20 series of smartphones, including Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro, priced above Rs 20,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively, Xiaomi is now looking to up the ante in the premium category going forward.

Redmi K20 series is powered by a huge 4,000 mAh battery, USB Type-C port, 3.5mm headphone jack and 27W SonicCharge support. The series boasts the highest quality standards. While the P2i nano-coating makes the phones splash-proof, there is Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and rear of both the phones. Other quality improvements include fall detection, which makes the pop-up camera retract automatically in case of a drop.

Xiaomi's foray into the Rs 25,000 and above category comes on the back of a rising share in India's smartphone market. Industry estimates peg total smartphones market in India at $150 million in 2019, of which smartphones in the Rs 25,000 and above category have grown from 5-6 per cent in 2018 to 8-9 per cent in 2019.

Currently, 35 per cent of the total 150 million smartphones in India are sold online. Xiaomi's market share in online smartphones is around 50 per cent, said Reddy.

According to Reddy, Redmi K20 also marks Xiaomi's first flagship smartphone to be completely assembled in India. The company has 7 plants across states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, with a capacity of manufacturing three phones per second, up from two phones per second last year.

Meanwhile, having made its foray into 100 cities through offline stores including its flagship Mi Homes, the company, said Reddy, will continue to grow offline in other cities in the future.