Introduction

Xiaomi entered the Indian market with their smartphone mi3 in partnership with Flipkart
which is one of India’s leading online retailer. Xiaomi used the concept of ‘flash sale’ to
create a hype and to market its value for money smartphone. A flash sale is a discount or
promotion offered by an e-commerce platform for a short duration of time. The customers
who awere interested had to register themselves for the sale and Xiaomi only made available
a limited stock of devices available because of which all of their devices sold out in just few
seconds only.
In India, Chinese brands have always been perceived as cheap and low quality, but Xiaomi
has changed that perception. It is affordable but not low quality. In fact, the quality is much
higher in comparison to the local brands. With its good quality and mid-range pricing,
Xiaomi phones became an instant hit and the perfect device to upgrade for the low-end phone
users.
In the initial days Xiaomi was very popular among the youngsters. As they couldn’t spend
more money on a smartphone and Xiaomi gave them the best smartphone which was
affordable for them and was of good build quality.
Xiaomi continued and launched many more successful mobiles like the Xiaomi mi4 for
Rs.19,999 in 2015. Xiaomi was highly affordable and was very well received in the market. It
competed with the Samsung galaxy s5 that was launched at a high price of Rs.50,500 in
2015. Xiaomi understood the sensibilities of the Indian market and continued to launch
smartphones in the mid-price range. Budget offerings helped the brand to expand the
footprint and establish an image of value-for-money products.
Other than smartphones, the company has launched Smart TVs now. Competitor’s Samsung
and Sony are concerned as Xiaomi is offering much more in the TV space. It promises the
same level of quality in software, hardware, design and picture quality as Sony and Samsung,
but at a much lower price. The quality vs affordability dilemma was higher this time but.
Xiaomi a brand that has built its reputation on affordability, it was initially surprising to see
Xiaomi bring its flagship TV. Not only did Xiaomi venture into the TV segment but went a
step further by pricing its most premium TV at the same price that Sony or Samsung would
charge for entry-level options. Recently OnePlus also launch their smart TV at same price
level which is giving Xiaomi a tough competition.
Xiaomi did not invest in brick and mortar stores. Instead, they focused on selling their
products online. This kept distribution costs low and that made the phones cheaper. Their
heavy online presence also helped them gain popularity among the youngsters, allowing
Xiaomi to cement itself as one of the leading brand dealing in smartphones Xiaomi, was
referred to as the brand "the poor man's iPhone". It was because, Xiaomi started putting out
phones that were iPhone lookalikes. Their first range of smartphones were constantly
compared to the Apple product and the company even got criticised for it. But although the
design was inspired from Apple’s iPhone, they were also packed with features and hardware
that made Indians feel that they were getting more value for their money. Its flagship Redmi
range of phones, for instance, include a 64-megapixel camera but are affordable, starting at
Rs.9,999 and going up to Rs.17,999. Indian consumers quickly attracted towards the phones -
which gleamed like iPhones but at one-third the price.