Xiaomi has announced that it has sold 34.7 million smartphones in the first half of 2015, an impressive increase of 33% year-on-year. This is despite China’s smartphone market experiencing a slowdown. Figures are based on units sold to customers.
Early this year, IDC revealed that Xiaomi ranked first in China for the year 2014, with a market share of 12.5% topping market share for five consecutive quarters.
Bin Lin, co-founder and president of Xiaomi exclaimed that this is an affirmation of the company’s unique business model of selling direct to consumers via e-commerce. Mi.com sales account for 70% of total smartphone sales, making it China’s third largest e-commerce player.
Well-known for its flash sales strategy, Xiaomi sold 2.12 milion phones in just 12 hours during its Mi Fan Festival in April, breaking its own record last year. It generated a total revenue of RMB2.08 billion (RM1.23 billion) in that time frame.
The company has seen tremendous growth in production capacity, supply chain management, technology and design capabilities. Currently, the majority of Xiaomi phones are on open sale without the need for pre-registration, making more accessible to consumers.
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Xiaomi’s repertoire of phones that include the Mi 2, Mi 3, Redmi, Redmi Note, Mi 4 and Redmi 2 — all have shipped over 10 million units each.
While it is far from being a global player, in less than five years, it has already reached Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, India and Indonesia.
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It’s robust growth has attracted top talent globally, diversifying its executive team. On 1 July, former partner of international investment fund DST Shou Zi Chew joined Xiaomi as its new CFO. Earlier in June, former president of Qualcomm Greater China, Wang Xiang, became senior vice president of strategic cooperation at Xiaomi.
Xiaomi isn’t just just a technology company pushing out products, but also an investor in companies. In April, Ninebot, leading China short-distance transportation maker acquired US-based Segway, backed by Xiaomi Technology, Sequoia Capital and Shunwei Foundation.
