Xiaomi aiming to double offline smartphone sales in 2016 year

Xiaomi is openly facing increased competition as it missed its 2015 target of selling 80 million phones—the 70 million devices they did sell is a clear miss compared to an optimistic 80-100 million device target. According to a Reuters report, the Chinese company that fashions itself as the Apple of China is now planning new stores in hopes of doubling offline smartphone sales.

Xiaomi had quickly claimed a significant market share in China and other emerging markets due to the low cost but decent specifications of its smartphones. This is possible due to the company’s focus on online sales, which allows Xiaomi to push costs down and keep tighter control over its stock levels. However, this business model has been imitated by many of its competitors and this increasing competition may go some way to explain why Xiaomi’s growth slowed for the first time ever in China during last year.

The news comes from an internal memo seen by Reuters, which suggests that Xiaomi wants to sell double the number of smartphones it sold offline in 2015 during the coming 12 months. According to analysts, just 40 percent of Xiaomi's total of 70 million smartphones were sold offline in 2015, meaning that in 2016 it plans on selling 56 million smartphones through its network of retail partners as well as its own bricks-and-mortar Mi stores.

A lot is riding on Xiaomi as it plans expansion around the world. As they lose favor in their home court of China, their next flagship, the Xiaomi Mi 5, is expected to launch after the Chinese New Year.
Source: http://www.xiaomidevice.com/blog/xiaomi-aiming-to-double-offline-smartphone-sales-in-2016-year/