Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi opens up sales to US, Europe
It was expected and is now official, Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi's online store will open up to the United States and Europe (Germany, France and the United Kingdom) as of June 1 and 2, 2015. Xiaomi, the biggest seller of smartphones in China in 2014, will first sell its accessories through the site before adding its famous smartphones.
The Mi Store will be open to the United States as of 7pm PST on June 1, and then to Europe the next day at 1pm. At first, items for sale will be limited to certain accessories such as batteries, headphones and connected bracelets.
All of the products will be shipped directly from China, with the possibility of returns if need be. It's the first time that Xiaomi has officially opened up to North America and Europe, despite some non-official stores offering their products, including smartphones and tablets.
An incredible success story
Originally a free distributor of the MIUI system, a derivative of Android, Xiaomi released its first smartphone, the Mi 1, at the end of 2011. Spearheaded by Brazilian Hugo Barra, who arrived in 2013 after being one of the top Android people at Google, Xiaomi entered a phase of incredible growth. That year alone, the start-up sold 18.7 million smartphones, almost exclusively in Asia. In 2014, Xiaomi sold some 61 million units, a 300% increase over the previous year.
For 2015, Xiaomi has set its sights on the symbolic marker of 100 million smartphones sold around the world and establishing recognition outside of Asia, hence the opening of its online store to other continents after having first targeted growth markets such as India and Brazil.
According to the latest numbers from market research company IDC, in 2014, Xiaomi became the biggest seller of smartphones in China with a 12.5% share of the market, placing it ahead of Samsung, Lenovo and even Apple, and in the last quarter alone, Xiaomi share jumped to 13.7%, surpassing Apple, who at the same time was achieving record sales in China with the new iPhone 6.
Discover the Mi Store at mi.com
