Xiaomi just took over China – is the US next?
In four short years, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi went from non-existence to No. 1 in China.
Could the same happen in the United States? Possibly — but not anytime soon.
Xiaomi captured 14% of the Chinese market in the second quarter, according to research firm Canalys. That translates to 15 million smartphones.
Amazingly, 97% of Xiaomi’s smartphones are sold in China, but its success there is good enough to make it the fifth-largest smartphone maker in the world, behind Samsung, Apple (AAPL, Tech30), Huawei and Lenovo.
Google tried and failed to shake up the way Americans buy smartphones with its Nexus experiment. Motorola tried and failed to drive online sales by allowing people to customize their Moto X phones online.
Yet Xiaomi has a few key distinguishing features. The privately-held company doesn’t even try to make money on its $130 phones, which it sells at cost. Instead, most profits come from add-ons and apps.
Xiaomi has also has a knack for marketing, and its advertising campaigns have attracted a massive group of extremely loyal fans in China. But can that be replicated abroad?
Source: CNN
