A recoil in the budget share of smartphones, a disproportionate reliance on online channels, and the lack of premium phones took a toll on Xiaomi's market share over the last two years. Now, the Chinese budget warrior is getting back into the game with a premium play. Can it upgrade to an aspirational brand?
The characters were real, and the story was non-fiction. The events, though, had a strong resemblance to fiction.
In July 2014, over one lakh potential buyers scrambled to register for the flash sale on ecommerce platform Flipkart. And within five seconds, thousands of smartphones were scooped up by fervent consumers. A month later, in August, the frenzy erupted again when the same model—thousands of Xiaomi's Mi3 phones—was sold out in two seconds. Even over thirty days later, the excitement persisted. This time, Xiaomi sold 40,000 units of Redmi 1S in four seconds. The Chinese smartphone maker had made its India debut in July 2014, and flash sales by the upstart set the market on fire. The euphoria was real, but the experience was surreal. In 2014, when handset brands were wooing buyers in shops, Xiaomi was engaged in an intense online romance.