As the offline sales rise for Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer said that it is losing sales from the online platform. On December 18, Xiaomi said online sales of its smartphones has fallen considerably. And the company also expects that there will be more decline in the online sales and fall to 70 per cent in the near future. However, the company has been boosting the sales of its smartphones from the offline channel in India. Even with the fall, the company’s sales from online channel amounts up to 80 per cent. Although the share has come down considerably from about 95 per cent it counted last year.
Xiaomi has its presence in 15 cities in India. The company has over 1,000 sales points, although these sale points are mostly through franchisees. Xiaomi India head of Online Sales, Raghu Reddy confirmed that the sales will fall from its online channel. In the last year, the company has increased its focus on the offline channel. As of now, there are a total of 14 exclusive company-owned stores across India.
Raghu Reddy has also confirmed that the smartphone maker will enter more cities in the near future. However, the company want to consolidate its position in the 15 cities it already has. Reddy added that the company has a market share of 50.8 per cent in online smartphone sales in the Q3 period of 2017.
In the last two months, the company has launched multiple smartphones in the country. Marketed as “Desh ka smartphone”, Redmi 5A was launched in this December. Redmi 5A is essentially a successor to the Rs 5,999 Redmi 4A which was launched in April this year. According to the company, the big highlight of the device is an “eight-day battery life” (standby time). The device is available at Rs 5,999 for the 2GB RAM and 16GB onboard storage variant, while the 3GB RAM-32GB internal variant is priced at Rs 6,999.
Xiaomi Mi A1 Special Edition was launched on December 18. The original Mi A1 was launched in the September with a price tag of Rs 14999, but as of now, the phone is listed at a price tag of Rs 13999. The Special Edition Mi A1 and the regular Mi A1 has identical specification with the difference being the colour Red.
Meanwhile, leaks from the company about its new phone keeps coming in every other day. Xiaomi’s Redmi 5 is one of the most anticipated devices that is due next year. Xiaomi recently launched the Redmi 5 in China and it packs the popular display with 18:9 aspect ratio. Reports suggest that now the Redmi Note 5 launch is imminent and it could be in the first month of the new year itself. In terms of price, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 will stay in the Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 range as it is the company’s most popular segment in India.
