Despite a slowdown in consumer spending, electronics retailer Xiaomi is looking to open a second Mi Home Hong Kong flagship store.
International VP Hugo Barra says there is a “big chance” a second location will follow its Mong Kok store, opened last year.
He says the flagship store has been a “huge hit” so the model is worth repeating.
A former senior executive at Google, Barra says Hong Kong is an important market for Xiaomi, which has just launched two smartphones, a phablet and an air purifier there.
“It’s the first time we’ve officially launched an IoT [Internet of Things] product outside Mainland China,” he says, referring to the Mi Air Purifier 2.
Barra says there is record demand for the 6.4in. Mi Max phablet, with 60 million pre-registrations in China.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi is moving to sell its devices offline in India, adding Just Buy Live and Foxconn unit InnoConn as distributors for smaller cities and towns.
The new partners will implement Xiaomi’s direct-to-retail (DTR) model, developed specially for the Indian market, where they will buy from Xiaomi and supply directly to retail stores that order to suit demand. This aims to cut out multiple layers of middlemen.