Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer Xiaomi has taken a page from its competitor’s playbook, opening its first physical store in SA at the weekend.
This follows Xiaomi’s pronouncements that it’s looking to increase its market share in SA, with the hope of eventually dislodging Huawei and Samsung, as competition in the market heats up.
The Chinese firm also previously noted its plan to gain share in the local market will include setting up brick-and-mortar stores throughout the country.
Xiaomi’s first physical store was officially opened on Saturday in Johannesburg, and ITWeb understands the next one will be launched in Cape Town in the near future.
Located at Sandton City mall, the store features Xiaomi smartphones and smart technology products such as e-scooters, smart watches and bands, e-bicycles, smart kettles, robot vacuum cleaners, speakers and security cameras.
In addition, customers can bring Xiaomi devices that need repairs to the store to get the process started.
Says the company: “The store emphasises how much Xiaomi values the South African market by giving Xiaomi fans in the country the opportunity to connect more closely with the brand and its offerings. Fans will get to see, touch and experience Xiaomi’s smart technology.”
Xiaomi, which is a global consumer electronics and smart manufacturing company, entered the South African market in 2017.
Since then, SA has seen a slew of Chinese smartphone brands enter the local market − namely Oppo, Vivo and Itel − which are also trying to penetrate the tightly-contested local market.
In SA, Xiaomi has rolled out an array of flagship and mid-range smartphones this year, including the Xiaomi 12 series (Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Lite), Redmi Note 11 series (Redmi Note 11 and Redmi Note 11 Pro), as well as the Redmi 10 series (Redmi 10A, Redmi 10C and Redmi 10 2022).
“These devices come with stronger specs and features, and bring powerful upgrades to their camera systems, charging speeds, displays − making excellent smartphone performance more accessible than ever,” it notes.
Xiaomi has a distribution agreement with Vodacom, MTN and Takealot, among others.It is also driving access to its devices via an open market on platforms such as Takealot, TFG stores, Incredible Connection and Pep.
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