Xiaomi bets big on Mi Homes for larger offline play

Chinese handset maker Xiaomi will set up 'Mi Homes' in four cities, including Delhi and Hyderabad, as it looks to increase its revenues from the offline retail market in India.

Last week, it unveiled its first 'Mi Home' in Bengaluru that will allow consumers to experience and buy all Xiaomi products under one roof.

Xiaomi had forayed into the Indian market in 2014, selling smartphones exclusively online through Flipkart. However, a year later, it partnered with distributors to sell devices through brick and mortar stores as well.

"Over the next few months, we will expand Mi Homes to Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad. We want to bring these five (Mi Homes) to scale, ensure they are profitable before we add more," Xiaomi India Head Manu Jain told PTI.
 

Xioami has 72 such Mi Homes in China -- its home market. The company has said it intends to set up 100 such Mi Homes in India over the next two years.

"Offline sales are about 10 per cent of our total sales and we expect this to grow to 20-30 per cent in the next few years," he said.

Xiaomi India crossed USD 1 billion revenue in 2016.

The company is also appointing city distributors to ensure a larger coverage in key markets like Delhi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Bengaluru, Jain added.

Xiaomi today launched two new products -- Redmi 4 (smartphone) and Mi Router 3C in the Indian market.

Redmi 4 -- the successor to Redmi 3S -- will be priced Rs 6,999 onwards. The device features a 5-inch display, octa-core processor, 13MP rear and 5MP front camera and 4,100 mAh battery. It will come in three variants - 2GB RAM/16GB memory, 3GB RAM/32GB memory, and 4GB RAM/64GB memory (expandable up to 128GB).

The Mi Router 3C offers a wireless speed of 300mbps. It can connect up to 64 devices, including 20 computing devices and 44 IoT devices. It comes with parental control and also allows users to prioritise bandwidth to devices. It is priced at Rs 1,199.

"With the fast growing internet population in the country, we saw a big gap in the current router market. With amazing smart features, and a game-changing price, Mi Router 3C is set to disrupt the router market in India," Jain said.