In a bid to break the notion that it is just a smartphone brand, Chinese electronics major Xiaomi has amplified its products portfolio in categories like fitness and health, smart home, smart travel and more, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.
After gaining ground as the top selling brand in the competitive Indian smartphone market, the company has ventured into the smart home category in India, by introducing air and water purifiers, projectors, security cameras, televisions and kitchen equipment, among others.
“In 2014, we began working towards our mission of not being recognised as just another smartphone company. Along with our products in the smart home portfolio, we are also venturing into the non-technology related segments like luggage, shoes, apparel and more,” Raghu Reddy, Head, Category and Online sales, Xiaomi India told IANS.
Expanding the “Mi Home” experience stores across the country, the eight-year old company lets users try, experience and provide feedback on the minimalist design philosophy-based products that have been doing well in the international markets and have the potential to do well in the Indian space as well.
“With our partner companies in the ‘Mi Ecosystem’, Xiaomi is the largest IoT platform in the world,” said Manu Kumar Jain, Vice President, Xiaomi Global and Managing Director, Xiaomi India.
The company has announced a new generation of Android TV-integrated Mi TVs with voice assistance, Mi Air Purifier 2S and Mi Home Security Camera 360 with “talk-back” feature at affordable prices.
“We aim to make everything inside the house a lot more smarter. We put in a lot of efforts in ensuring that if we launch something here, it is completely customised for India and that takes up a lot of time based on customer requirements in the country,” Reddy added.
Xiaomi, along with over 200 partners that are part of the “Mi Ecosystem,” curates over 115 million activated devices in segments across consumer lifestyle, smart home, travel, toys and more.
Based on the users’ feedback at the experience stores and social networks, the company said it will keep customizing products for the Indian users.
“The opportunities of bringing in newer products are endless. People wanted the Mi TV for long and we brought that in India with voice support. People now want us to launch laptops,” said Reddy.
In September, Xiaomi refreshed its smartphone category and launched budget friendly devices, Redmi 6, Redmi 6A and Redmi 6 Pro smartphones, along with Poco F1 in the Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000 price segment.
Started with the online-only strategy, Xiaomi is now concentrating on stabilizing its presence in offline retail as well.
At present, the company has four “Mi Home Experience Stores” in Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi and 36 “Mi Home” stores across India. With the purpose of strengthening its offline network further, Xiaomi aims to open 100 “Mi Home” stores in 2018.
