Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi said it could
sell more models in Indian stores while pursuing its primarily online-only
strategy if it succeeds in selling enough Redmi Note 4G handsets through shops
of carrier Bharti Airtel.
Xiaomi entered India with online retailer
Flipkart.com in July, selling phones through flash sales whereby availability
is limited to short time frames. The online strategy cuts down on marketing and
distribution costs, allowing Xiaomi to sell feature-rich phones at low prices.
But last week, Bharti Airtel said it would
sell Redmi Note 4G handsets in six cities through 133 stores of India’s biggest
fourth-generation (4G) mobile network provider. In-store handset prices in
India are comparable to online models because neither are sold with network
chips or subsidised through pricing plans.
“If this works out fine, we’ll expand the
partnership to other cities and other devices,” Manu Jain, head of Xiaomi in
India, told Reuters in a telephone interview on Wednesday, adding that it was
too early to form any concrete plans yet.
Making models available in stores – as Xiaomi
does in China – could help the fast-growing startup reach more users in the
world’s third-largest smartphone market as Bharti promotes the handsets to
attract subscribers to its 4G service.
Offline channels
Due to online sales, Xiaomi’s Indian customers
span 1,000 cities just six months after entering the market, Jain said.
But “offline” channels are important for
prospective customers to see and feel the phones on offer. In China, about 30
percent of Xiaomi’s sales come from “offline” channels and the company is
aiming for a similar split in India, Jain said.
Xiaomi’s store push comes as the maker plans
new model launches, including its pricier Mi4 by the end of this month or early
next, Jain said without elaborating.
In India, Xiaomi is just one of 280 brands in
a smartphone market led by South Korea’s Samsung followed by local maker
Micromax. Standing out from the crowd could necessitate a more tangible
presence in a range of locations.
Rival Google launched its Android One range of
affordable smartphones last year on e-commerce sites in India, and has since
extended to in-store sales.
“If Xiaomi has to reach out to rural areas and
smaller cities (which have lower online populations), they have to have tie-ups
with brick-and-mortar stores,” said Neil Shah, a Mumbai-based research director
for devices at Counterpoint Research.
Reuters
