Xiaomi is a Chinese smartphone manufacturer that has experienced significant growth on its home turf in the four years it has been around. It is often referred to as the Apple of China, due to its meteoric rise in one of the most competitive markets on the planet. Its smartphones have actually been outselling the iPhone in China. Xiaomi is not like other Chinese manufacturers who don’t go behind the Great Wall. It has its sights set firmly on global expansion, and now eyes 10 new countries to expand sales into.
To spearhead global expansion Xiaomi poached former Google executive Hugo Barra last year. Under his leadership the wheels for expansion were set in motion. Xiaomi devices are already being sold in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
At a press conference in Beijing today, the founder and CEO of Xiaomi Lei Jun revealed that the company will soon start selling its devices in Brazil, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Russia, Mexico, Philippines, Turkey, Thailand and Vietnam.
The main reason why Xiaomi outsells most of its competitors is price. It opts to sell directly to consumers online and this model has worked wonders in China. Lei targets to boost Xiaomi’s sales fivefold by 2015 to 100 million units. The company hasn’t set it sights on North America just yet, but if initial global expansion goes well, it may definitely think about doing so.
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