Xiaomi avoids talking falling phone sales, aims at $14 bn revenue in 2017

Company aims for $14 billion in revenues in 2017, reports Tech in Asia

Xiaomi boss Lei Jun today talked in detail about the Chinese gadget maker’s year – but he studiously avoided revealing precisely how many phones it sold in 2016.

After missing its 2015 phone sales target and then being whacked by Huawei and a bunch of other rivals in its home nation last year, many analysts reckon Xiaomi’s China stumble will contribute to a big drop for its budget smartphones.

Billionaire serial entrepreneur Lei Jun described 2016 as a year of “excellent results” in an open letter.

“We end the year with greatly improved management and higher organisational efficiency. As an example, since we reorganised our smartphone hardware team in May 2016, the team has doubled, and we have strengthened product R&D, supply chain, and quality management,” he said.

Xiaomi will hit RMB 100 billion – $14.4 billion – in revenue across all gadgets and services in 2017, wrote the CEO.

‘We pushed too fast’

“In the first few years, we pushed ahead too fast. We created a miracle, but also drew on some long-term growth. So we have to slow down, further improve in some areas, and ensure sustainable growth for a long-term future,” admitted the CEO.

The company will focus on growing its artificial intelligence expertise and its online finance products in the new year, alongside its shift in retail strategy. 

Amidst Xiaomi’s data jigsaw puzzle, it’s hard to see how badly the company has been hurt by the upmarket shift among China’s smartphone shoppers. Xiaomi was the top phone brand in the country in 2014 and 2015, but data from analysts to be published later this month is expected to show Huawei is the new king.

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.