Xiaomi opens first retail store in Bengaluru; to open 100 Mi Home stores in 2 years

Xiaomi has opened its first retail store in Bengaluru on Thursday. The company also announced that it will open 100 retail stores in two years.

Xiaomi's Vice President and Managing Director of India operations Manu Kumar Jain at the retail store opening today said the company plans to open 100 Mi Home outlets in the next two years.

Super excited to announce the first ever Mi Home in India and it's coming to Phoenix Market City, Bengaluru on 20th May 2017! #MiHome pic.twitter.com/MGGXoDivhH

— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) May 11, 2017

Xiaomi's first retail store will be open on May 20th in Phoenix Market City, Bengaluru.

We plan to open 100 Mi Homes across India in the next 2 years. Come and say hi if you're in Bengaluru! #MiHome pic.twitter.com/aouVhGugqi

— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) May 11, 2017

Announcing the launch of the store Sharma tweeted, “The stage is set! We are about to launch our 1st Mi Home in India. Super excited.. Are you coming?”

He further said that the Mi Home stores represent their Internet+ approach combining Internet efficiency of e-commerce with the experience of offline retail. “Mi Home is our exclusive offline retail store that allows Mi fans to experience & purchase Xiaomi's latest products under one roof,” he said.

It seems that Xiaomi has received its license to set up its single brand retail stores in India. The company had applied for the single brand retail store license last year and in February was expecting of getting the own branded outlets in India soon.

The Chinese-smartphone brand has had success selling its smartphones exclusively through online platforms, had been looking to set up its own retail stores to create an offline presence in the country.

As offline sales of smartphones are much higher in comparison to online sales in India, the company is looking to increase its reach in India. Other Chinese smartphone brands such as Oppo and Vivo have made it into the top 5 smartphone companies in India in just 2 years due to a strong offline presence through various distribution channels.