Nothing tells the story of Xiaomi better than this fact: the brand has just climbed to the second place in the world’s best smartphone maker, overtaking Apple by a comfortable margin, and now taking a 17% share of the market.
This puts the brand close to dominance, as Samsung is just above 19%. But while in a very tough market Samsung saw 15% growth in its sales, Xiaomi was up 83%, largely due to its meteoric expansion in South America and Africa, where they grew by 300% and 150% respectively.
In the last quarter of 2020, Xiaomi reached 43.4 million units sold, a year-on-year increase of 31.5%, surpassing Apple in third place. In the first quarter of 2021, Apple captured 15% of the market, becoming No. 2, while Xiaomi continued to grow, with a distribution of 49.4 million units, with an annual growth of 69.1%.
In Europe, Xiaomi has also paid off its policy of proximity to its users, betting on opening stores that offer service very close, with a bet not to focus only on elite points.
According to Canalys, one of Xiaomi’s most attractive points is its lower average prices than its main competitors, Samsung and Apple, which is easy to understand in today’s market. But for the agency, Xiaomi should also aim to grow in the premium segment. Of course, Xiaomi’s pricing is easy to explain by the company’s commitment of 5% of the profits it reiterated, always promising that the surplus will always be invested in its customers (for example, in research and development, in the cost-effectiveness of equipment.
In a letter sent to Xiaomi employees, Lei Jun, Founder, President and CEO of Xiaomi, emphasized that reaching the second place worldwide is a historic milestone, the culmination of 5 years of self-improvement under difficult conditions, during which the capabilities of the Xiaomi product cradle Design the way for premium segment and market dominance.
Indeed, if the brand’s goal now is to get rid of Samsung’s long history of dominance, to achieve this, Xiaomi continues to innovate in several areas, from hardware to artificial intelligence, with its smart factory coming into operation, allowing the production of one million units per year, as well as facilitating Research and development of new materials, components and equipment.
Xiaomi’s success story, above all, revolves around partnerships. The brand has shown greater maturity in managing the international market, striving to ensure quality after-sales services and prestigious brands. Equipment like the Mi 11 Ultra shows that the brand is here to manufacture the best possible smartphones with the latest technology available, while Redmi shows that Xiaomi has not lost its roots.
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