“Lockdown didn't really impact our engagement”: Anuj Sharma, Xiaomi India

While most brands are postponing new launches and promotions, Xiaomi is marching ahead at full pace. Xiaomi launched five products during the lockdown and is now entering the laptops category in India.

Despite the national lockdown, Xiaomi has been having a gala time. The ‘internet company’ has launched at least five products in less than a month and is launching its sixth new entry today. The new Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P, Xiaomi’s alternative for a roomba, was launched on April 17 under its ‘Smart Homes’ category. This was followed by the launches of Xiaomi’s flagship smartphone Mi 10 5G, along with Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 and Mi Box 4K on May 8. Then, on May 26, the brand announced the launch of Redmi Earbuds S, a first under the Redmi sub-brand.

The company is now entering the laptop PC space in India, with the launch of Mi Notebook. Like the other Xiaomi launches in the recent past, this one, too, will be an online-only event, and will be streamed on Xiaomi’s social media profiles. Xiaomi’s products are sold via channels, like mi.com, Mi homes, Mi Studios, Mi Stores, Mi Commerce and Amazon.

While sales dipped due to a break in the supply chain, smartphone usage in India rose by 25-30 per cent during lockdown. To set its distribution right, Xiaomi launched Mi Commerce, the company’s O2O (offline to online) initiative to bring its offline outlets online. In the Mi Commerce model, consumers are connected to the nearest Xiaomi stores via GPS. Post ordering, the store owner facilitates delivery.

The company saw a setback in Q2, and expects the market to rebound in the coming months. Xiaomi will also proceed with its plan to expand its offline base of 3,000 exclusive stores to 5,000 by the end of the year. It also expects a spike in the share of e-commerce from the current 35-40 per cent of overall sales.

We spoke to Anuj Sharma, chief marketing officer, Xiaomi India, to delve further into the brand’s lockdown journey.

Edited excerpts.