Xiaomi’s New Strategy Is Helping it Regain Market Share in India

Xiaomi's focus on affordable 5G devices has helped the company to strengthen its grip in the midrange segment

Published On: October 26, 2023

Xiaomi created history in India when it overtook Samsung to become the numero uno smartphone brand in the country in 2017. The company maintained its top spot in the market for several quarters, with a strong portfolio in the mid-range and budget segment.

However, with increasing competition from other brands and the emergence of new players like Realme and iQOO, Xiaomi slowly lost its grip on the market. Now the company seems to have changed its tack, and its revised strategy seems to have proven effective in the last financial quarter. Here’s how Xiaomi is working to regain its market share in India.

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Xiaomi Shifts Back Focus on Sub-Rs 15,000 Category

Murlaikrishnan B, the President of Xiaomi India, recently gave an interview to the Economic Times sharing the strategy of the the company in the upcoming months. He said that Xiaomi wants to win the trust of its customers, and considers customer satisfaction more important than its market share.

Xiaomi has reworked its retail chain and has streamlined its margin structures. The company has also shifted its focus on the sub-Rs 15,000 segment, to launch affordable 5G devices. Muralikrishnan says that Xiaomi’s new strategy has shown positive results in the last nine months.

He also added that Xiaomi made a mistake by launching too many smartphones during 2021-22. The company has revamped its portfolio by learning from its mistakes, which has significantly helped Xiaomi to bounce back. Xiaomi was the top smartphone brand in India, in August 2023.

Xiaomi’s current focus is to connect with the masses and launch devices to cater to the specific needs of the Indian market. Muralikrishnan further said that Xiaomi is currently not focused on regaining the top spot in market share. The company will stick to its new strategy, and progress steadily.

Redmi 12 Series Has Helped Xiaomi Significantly

Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, said that Xiaomi realised the mistakes in its portfolio, and went back to the drawing board. The company then came up with the Redmi 12 Series, which has proven to be successful. However, Xiaomi was not able to keep up with the demand for the phone. Otherwise, the company would have easily regained its top spot in the market.

Muralikrishnan also admitted that Xiaomi’s strength has been the entry to the mid-level segment in smartphones. However, he further said that Xiaomi is looking to build a premium portfolio of devices in the Rs 25,000-Rs 50,000 segment. Xiaomi believes that all price segments are equally important in the smartphone market.

As per Canalys’ latest report, Xiaomi’s market share in smartphones has declined from 30% to just 15% between 2021 and 2023. The company has however shown improvement in sales numbers in the last 6 months, indicating its strong comeback. Muralikrishnan said that he is pragmatically positive about the growth of the smartphone market in India, and Xiaomi will continue to contribute to it.