Xiaomi to create 20,000 jobs in India; founder briefs PM Modi on plans
Chinese smartphone giant aims to bring Mi Home stores to India; increase offline presence
premium
Last Updated : Mar 28 2017 | 9:48 AM IST
Chinese technology major Xiaomi's founder Lei Jun on Monday said the company aims to create 20,000 jobs in India, which he said was one of the most important markets for the company, the next three years.
According to The Economic Times, Lei also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier on Monday and explained the concept of the "Internet Plus" model, and its benefit for Indian companies.
Internet Plus
Speaking at the Economic Times Global Business Summit 2017, Lei said that the company has made major strides in a very short time.
Lei also spoke about China's "Internet Plus" policy which "the Chinese premier started in 2015".
"Internet plus action plan is a new form of economic plan where internet is integrated with traditional industries encouraging to the spirit of excellence in these industries and drive economic growth," he said.
According to Lei, the Internet Plus policy elevates internet to become the most important engine of growth for China's economy and Xiaomi is one of the companies to adapt this policy.
50 per cent offline market share
Earlier on Monday, Lei said after its success in the online market in India, Xiaomi wants to take its offline presence much higher by increasing offline market share to 50 per cent of its sales.
However, Lei told ET that fist, the company had to focus on getting 50 per cent market share in online.
Mi Home for India
Speaking to the financial daily in an exclusive interview, Lei said that Mi Home stores, which the company leverages to keep prices of its phones the same for online and offline despite the high cost of offline retail, could be an "inspiration for India's retail economy".
He said the company would be looking how to bring Mi Home to India and experimenting with the concept. The scale and future of the move, he added, would depend upon the feedback.
Doing well in India
According to analyst firm IDC, Xiaomi India has become the number one selling smartphone brand in the online market, with about 29.3 per cent share.
Xiaomi entered India in July 2014 and last year, Xiaomi logged $1 billion in revenue in the country.
After entering India, the company opened its first plant in August 2015 and by March 2016, over 75 per cent of its phones were being manufactured in India.
However, on Monday Lei announced that more than 95 per cent of Xiaomi smartphones sold in India are made in India.
Riding on its success, last week Xiaomi announced its second manufacturing unit in partnership with Taiwanese electronics major Foxconn in Andhra Pradesh.
Xiaomi will now have a combined production capacity of one phone per second during operational hours.
The plant has also helped create employment for more than 5,000 people from over 100 surrounding villages. More than 90 per cent of the workforce employed are women.
Earlier this year, Xiaomi slipped to fourth spot in China as the demand for its smartphones declined 22 per cent annually -- eventually taking it to seventh spot in the global smartphone ranking with a 16 per cent drop in sales.