Xiaomi has dominated the smartphone market since its debut in India in 2015. Within a short time of entering the market, the company’s various handsets have gained immense popularity among the people of this country; Xiaomi’s Redmi phones have become the first choice of most buyers to get a lot of attractive features at their fingertips at a low price, and this demand has made Xiaomi the number one smartphone brand in India in terms of sales of handsets especially in the budget range (Rs 7,000 to Rs 15,000 segment). The company has maintained this record for the last 5-6 years i.e. for a long time, leaving behind many old, popular and even domestic brands. But the game has turned the other way in recent times – various pressures have affected Xiaomi’s business, which has seen Samsung re-emerge as the leading smartphone brand in the country. But is Xiaomi’s story coming to an end? Not at all, instead, the Chinese tech giant is betting big to regain its market share by leveraging the Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 phone segment without giving up. At least that’s what senior company officials say.
Xiaomi’s best strategy to regain lost market
Xiaomi India president Muralikrishnan B said last Friday that the company has come up with a new strategy (read recent strategy) aimed at reclaiming its place as India’s most loved and trusted smartphone brand. He said that they also want to increase their skills as an IoT brand. According to Murali, from now on Xiaomi will work with a smaller portfolio (meaning probably not launching a bunch of products as often) and focus on 5G development in the country.
According to Muralikrishnan – Most of the 5G phones sold in the name of good service these days are priced above Rs 20,000. But a large part of the market wants to meet the demand in the segment of Rs 10,000-15,000. Counterpoint Research also observed fluctuations in shipments of various ranges of phones in the previous quarter. In this situation, the strategy or plan that Xiaomi is taking is to launch good smartphones again in the budget range in this 5G era. According to the official, the success of the company’s budget smartphones like Redmi Note 10T 5G, Redmi Note 11T 5G and Redmi 11 Prime 5G is giving them confidence in this turnaround plan.
Xiaomi’s shipments have declined for four consecutive quarters
Now it is clear that Xiaomi will launch a good 5G phone in low budget very soon to turn around. Muralikrishnan said the company will also look at offline sales to increase its business. Meanwhile, market experts have recorded declines in the company’s shipments for the past four consecutive quarters. According to a Counterpoint Research report, Xiaomi, with a 16 percent market share, slipped to third place in phone sales. All in all, what will be the status of Xiaomi in the future, whether the company will regain its glory – that is to be seen now!
