NEW DELHI: Chinese electronics company, Xiaomi is focusing to set-up 100 experience centres across India this year. Although these experience centres will allow the consumers to check out the Xiaomi devices, they will not be selling them and the devices will still be only available at the company’s sales partner Flipkart.com.
There is no word on where these experience centres will be established, but we can expect the company to target the tier 1 and tier 2 cities first. Apart from showcasing devices, these experience centres will also provide service and support for Xiaomi devices.
According to a report in Reuters, Xiaomi also reiterated its plans to set-up manufacturing units in the country within 12 to 18 months. The company is currently scouring possible locations for these units, which will assemble devices for the consumption in the country. At this point, all Xiaomi devices being sold in the Indian market are imported from China. Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s vice president of international operations, also told Reuters that the manufacturing units in India can later be also used to ship products to neighbouring markets.
“We are looking at (serving) the domestic market to start with but as we expand into other markets, particularly other markets in south Asia, it could make sense to export,” Barra said.
Barra was speaking on the sidelines of the Xiaomi Redmi 2 and Mi Pad India launch, which are set to go on sale on March 24 for the first time in the country.
