Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi on Thursday said it will invest ₹100 crore in India to double its retail touch points in the country to 30,000 in the next two years.
The investment will help retail partners set up and run these new stores. The company said it wants to “foster retail entrepreneurship” in rural markets, and the investment will create over 10,000 new jobs. It will also open a new Mi Retail Academy, where it plans to train sales and customer management staff in skills like in-store designing, marketing, customer service and retail excellence.
“With this new initiative, we are determined to expand our presence and reach out to our customers in the convenience of their home towns,” said Manu Jain, managing director of Xiaomi India.
While the Chinese brand did lose some of its market share in India this year, amid an overall drop in the country’s smartphone market, it has remained the top smartphone seller in India for over three years now.
The India smartphone market registered a 4% year-on-year decline in 2020, owing to supply chain constraints and global component shortages, driven by the pandemic.
According to data from Counterpoint Research, the company lost 1% market share year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2020. Xiaomi owns 26% of the Indian smartphone market share by shipments, followed by Samsung with 19% share.
Chinese compatriots Vivo, Realme and Oppo complete the top five, with 15%, 12% and 10% market share, respectively. Premium smartphone maker, Apple, also grew this year by shipping almost 1.5 million units in 2020, almost doubling its market share in the country.
