China’s smartphone maker Xiaomi is to open 18 shops before the year ends – but not to sell phones.

The 18 bricks-and-mortar stores will only offer accessories such as phone cases, batteries and cables and serve as pick-up outlets for online orders and as repair hubs for damaged devices.

Xiaomi’s mobile devices are currently sold through e-commerce and partner carriers.

Xiaomi VP Li Wanqiang expects to hit a revenue of more than 1 billion yuan (US$164 million) from selling accessories this year.