Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown conditions across India, Xiaomi has come up with innovative solutions to reach new users. The company first debuted the ‘Mi Commerce’ website earlier in May to give its offline retailers a platform to sell the products directly to consumers online. And now, Xiaomi has decided to expand its offline footprint with the launch of ‘Mi Store on Wheels’ in India.
As the name and the images suggest, Xiaomi has converted a mini loader truck into a moving mobile phone store. This will allow the company to reach your home and give consumers a chance to buy new Xiaomi phones even under lockdown restrictions. The negligence of the citizens and the rapidly rising number of COVID-19 cases is still keeping many of us restricted to our homes.
Xiaomi India MD Manu Kumar Jain, in an official tweet, says that ‘Mi Store on wheels’ is designed to bring the whole retail experience to the heart of India. The Chinese giant is planning to reach villages and rural areas with this initiative. It is said to have been brain-stormed and put into action within just 40 days, as per Jain’s tweet below.
"Mi"les to go before we sleep!
Excited to launch "#MiStore-on-wheels", an innovative concept that brings #retail experience to the heart of #India, connecting villages through a moving store.
So proud of our #offline #team who completed this project in just 40 days.
I ❤️ Mi pic.twitter.com/7OECCNnlgb
— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) September 21, 2020
Xiaomi executives have shared a number of photos of the ‘Mi Store on Wheels’ and it resembles any other pop-up food truck that you may find at your street’s corner. This one, however, seems to not only sell the company’s latest phones including the Redmi Note 9 and Redmi 9 series. It also makes available IoT and lifestyle products, such as the Mi TV Box 4K, Mi TV Stick, Mi Trimmer 1C, and a lot more.
If you are someone who’s made fitness a priority during the lockdown, then Mi Band 4 and Redmi Earbuds S can also be bought via this mobile store. Xiaomi will make sure to follow all necessary hygience and safety practices, while ensuring buyers at mobile vans maintain social distancing to curb the spread of Coronavirus.
Now, the most obvious question that many of you may have — In what all cities is the ‘Mi Store of Wheels’ being launched? Well, to start with, the company is piloting the project in ‘Mahsamund’ district in Chhattisgarh. The van will start with Basna (population – around 13,000) and go from one city to another in search of prospective buyers. What’s more, Mi Store on wheels will collect feedback for what products users want to buy and return with those in tow during the next run through their city.
Overall though, the idea to bring its devices to consumers, who are stuck at home due to lockdown restrictions or inherent fear of the virus, via mobile vans is commendable.
