Xiaomi prepares for peak sales period with new smartphone

Xiaomi Corp unveiled its latest flagship smartphone on Tuesday ahead of the autumn sales peak. Xiaomi founder and Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun (above) pledged to build the company into a "well-respected global brand". WANG JING/CHINA DAILY

Xiaomi prepares for peak sales period with its new smartphone

Xiaomi Corp unveiled its latest flagship smartphone on Tuesday ahead of the autumn sales peak, a critical period for the Beijing-based handset vendor to meet its target of shipping 60 million units.

Analysts said that China will remain Xiaomi's major market, although founder and Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun pledged to build Xiaomi into a "well-respected global brand".

The Xiaomi 4 will help the company achieve a new sales record worldwide, according to Lei.

The company said that with the introduction of the new device, its annual revenue is on track to stand at 70 billion yuan ($11.35 billion) to 80 billion yuan this year.

Tian Zheng, a senior researcher at local consultancy Analysys International, said this autumn will be an important period for Xiaomi to meet the second-half sales target.

China's smartphone market still offers plenty of potential even after years of high double-digit growth, said Tian.

"The market in China is big enough for companies such as Xiaomi to introduce a mid-end device and get a good consumer response," Tian said.

Xiaomi has sold more than 57 million smartphones since being established in 2011, the company said. The figure makes Xiaomi a top local vendor although its total shipments still lag far behind South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

Nicole Peng, research director of market data firm Canalys China, said the Xiaomi 4 is priced to help the company attract Chinese users of fourth-generation services.

"China isn't lacking cheap 4G phones, but [it's short of] some good quality, mid- to high-range devices like the Xiaomi 4," said Peng.

Xiaomi's new device supports China Mobile Ltd's 4G network and will be installed with other carriers' 4G standard several months from now. The price is 1,999 yuan for the entry-level model.

Peng said a large number of buyers will still be attracted to the lower-end devices the company launched previously.

Total smartphone shipments in China reached 360 million in 2013, with the majority of the units costing less than 3,000 yuan, according to Analysys.

At Tuesday's launch, Lei delved deeply into the manufacturing details and technological complexity of the device in hopes of impressing the media and fans with the company's "exquisite" craftsmanship.

"We always wanted to make a product that is better than [Apple Inc's] iPhone. Xiaomi 4 is the latest evidence that we can pull it off," said Lei.

The iPhone-quality manufacturing prowess is a savvy promotional slogan with which Xiaomi can lure overseas buyers, especially as the company attempts to enter foreign markets, analysts said.

The company kicked off its business in India last week in a bid to lift profit margins. Xiaomi now sells devices in Southeast Asia, where the competition is less intense than in developed markets.

Building up the user numbers for its own interface platform in the early stages will be a critical step for Xiaomi to establish an overseas market base, Peng said.