When Xiaomi started its operations in India, three years ago, it was an online only brand but now the company is expanding its presence in offline retail as well. With its 'direct to retail' strategy, Xiaomi products are available in select large format retail stores, over 600 preferred partner stores and at company operated Mi Home stores.
The Mi Home are company's franchise based retail stores displaying compete ecosystem products launched in India. The products include Redmi smartphones, Mi smartphones, smartphone accessories such as speakers, headphones, selfie stick and ecosystem products such as air purifier and router.
Consumers can buy Xiaomi devices at Mi Home. There is also an option of per-booking the products with a minimum token amount for the launch weekend. Pre-booking the device ensures that a unit is reserved against the pre-booking, even if the product is out-of-stock.If the device is not available at the Mi Home, customers are handed over the f-code, using which, they can purchase the product online.
Xiaomi has launched three Mi Homes in Bengaluru. The Chinese technology giant is launching its fourth Mi Home in Delhi NCR (at Ambience Mall, Gugugram) at 10 AM on August 19. The company also plans to launch 100 Mi Homes in metros, tier 1 and tier 2 cities in the span of next two years.
As Xiaomi is aggressively expanding in offline retail, Manu Jain, Xiaomi Indi head, claims that currently 20 per cent of the overall business is coming from offline retail, which can grow up to 30 per cent by the end of this year. In India, 67 per cent of the smartphone sales happen in offline retail and even after so many years, online retail contributes only 33 per cent of the business.