Chinese smartphone hotshot Xiaomi has sold 34.7 million smartphones in the first half of 2015, with a 33 per cent increase in sales compared to the same period last year.
Xiaomi achieved this feat despite a slowdown in the China smartphone market, which contracted by four per cent year-on-year during the first quarter of 2015, according to technology research firm IDC.
Last year, Xiaomi was the top smartphone marker in China with a market share of 12.5 per cent, based on IDC figures.
Its co-founder Lin Bin attributes the company’s success to its e-commerce direct sales model. Some 70 per cent of Xiaomi’s sales are made through mi.com, making it China’s third-largest online commerce player.
Both the Mi and Redmi devices have done well, with the Mi 2, Mi 3, Mi 4, Redmi, Redmi Note and Redmi 2 each shipping more than 10 million units so far.
Xiaomi’s sales volume has brought improvements in production capacity and supply chain management, enabling it to attract investments and talent from partners like Qualcomm and sell products without requiring consumers to pre-register their interest.
As Xiaomi gains strength, top guns like Samsung and LG will be under pressure to launch high-quality and affordable devices to stay competitive. This has proven to be difficult to achieve without affecting margins and cannibalising sales of their flagship devices.
