Home » From rice grains to technology, 11 years of Xiaomi and 3 years of Xiaomi Italia

From rice grains to technology, 11 years of Xiaomi and 3 years of Xiaomi Italia

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8 years have passed between the birth of Xiaomi and the birth of Xiaomi Italia: one was founded in April 2010 and the other on May 24, 2018. It is a rather long period of time, in which however little or nothing has changed in the company’s approach to the customer and the market. But a lot has changed in what Xiaomi is, worldwide and also Italian: from a low-cost Chinese brand, known above all for reliable, well made and cheap mobile phones, a technology giant that sells everything and that, to stay with smartphones, has a range that goes from less than 200 to about 1400 euros.

In this time, not even Xiaomi’s philosophy has changed, as his reminded us general manager in Italia, Leonardo Liu, during a long long distance chat: “The company name derives from two Chinese ideograms that mean small and rice, because the founder Lei Jun wanted that, no matter how big it could become, was always run as a small restaurant, in which attention to detail and people play a fundamental role “.

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Three years of Xiaomi Italia, in second place in the market
It is an approach that has obviously helped here too: “In your country we have 16 Mi Stores and on May 28 another one will be inaugurated on the outskirts of Rome – Liu told us – We have conquered the second step of the podium of the Canalys ranking for smartphones delivered in the third quarter of 2020, reconfirmed in the first quarter of 2021, with a market share of 25% and an annual growth of 91% “.

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But Xiaomi does not only produce phones, even if it is mainly for phones that it is known: “We are also there the world‘s largest Internet of Things platform, with almost 325 million devices connected to the Net – Liu told us without hiding his satisfaction – We are experiencing a growing demand for this from Italy and we are doing everything possible to satisfy the requests ”. Apart from smartphones, the products that fared better in Italy “were monopattini electrical, purificatori d’aria, fitness band e smart tv”.

All respect in some way the concept of “fair profit”, introduced globally shortly before the debut in Italy: “In April 2018 we announced that our hardware would have a total profit margin not exceeding 5% – is Liu’s explanation – When the margin exceeds 5%, we find a way to return the surplus to customers ”, perhaps in the form of research and development of innovations that will be integrated into subsequent products. It is an aspect that helps to keep prices low, especially in relation to technological contents, even if lately the feeling is that Xiaomi is trying to follow in the footsteps of OnePlus, which started from the bottom and arrived at the very highest levels of the smartphone market. . To prove it there is the latest Mi 11 Ultra, which costs about the same as an iPhone 12 Pro. On this, Liu does not hide: “Certain components have high costs, but we do our best to ensure a more competitive final price than that of the competition and I believe that our customers understand the investment we are making to have innovative products at the Best price”. And anyway, “our range is vast to meet any type of taste and availability”.

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The relationship with fans and the lesson of the coronavirus
Because the ultimate goal is not to disappoint customers (indeed, i My fan), with which Xiaomi historically has a very close relationship, also in product development and in the correction of any defects: “Our fans are very important and we have built a very special relationship with them”. In Italy, in particular, “the community was already present even before our official arrival and today it counts over 400 thousand subscribers and almost 90 Mi Fan Clubs throughout the territory “.

It is an exchange that also continued in 2020, despite the difficulties related to the coronavirus: “Like many, we have focused on social media to enter the homes of Italians, to involve them, shorten distances and not make them feel alone – Liu told us – We avoided ceremonies for the inauguration of the Stores, to avoid gatherings and respect the safety protocols, and we tried to lend a hand, with the donation of thousands of masks “.

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As for the next steps, confirmed already at the end of March that Xiaomi will produce electric cars, with an initial investment of $ 1.5 billion, Liu did not want to overreact: “I can’t give details yet, except that in the next 10 years this will be the most interesting development area and it will become fundamental for us”.

We ended our chat with him with a question we had already asked him in a previous interview, asking him when they will overtake Samsung in the Italian market. His answer was a question: “Would you have ever expected this growth from Xiaomi in Italy?”.

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