Dubai: Chinese technology start-up Xiaomi aims to be among the top five smartphone players in the Middle East and North Africa within couple of years, its distributor told Gulf News.
The manufacturer on Wednesday launched four new 4G and dual-SIM smartphones with prices ranging from Dh449 to Dh1699.
Steve Vickers, an ex-employee at Xiaomi and chief marketing officer at Task FZCO, the distributor for Xiaomi phones in the Mena region, said that it took five years for Xiaomi to become number one in China and has quickly risen to top five in certain markets outside of China in the first year.
“We believe that there are customers who are looking for good quality products at an affordable price point. It is not about a product but whether the product offers a quality user experience and that is what the product does,” he said.
It may be a brand that people had not heard of but there are “true aspects” about product functionality that differentiate the quality of these products. “We believe that there are Mi fans here in the Gulf states as there are in throughout Asia and Latin America. We believe that these products will be successful here as well. Smartphone growth in the Mena region is benefiting hugely from customers upgrading from basic phones,” he said.
Quoting a report from research firm International Data Corporation, he said that smartphones today account for only 67 per cent of all handsets sold in the region and by 2019 smartphones are expected to represent more than 80 per cent of all handsets sold.
“The fastest growing segment is for devices priced between $100 and $200, and that is why we think that Xiaomi smartphones will do extremely well here,” he said.
Xiaomi became the top China’s smartphone market in 2014 with an idea of selling devices online and some of the models were sold out in minutes.
It manufactures many consumer electronics products like headphones, wearable bands, air purifiers, TVs, electric scooters and small cameras.
Vickers said that smartphones, headphones, wearable bands and power banks will be available here but the TVs, which are available only in China now, will be available this year.
Mi wearable band will be available in February for about Dh100.
The phones will be available on January 16th across all Etisalat retail outlets and online.
The start-up founded by Lei Jun missed its target of selling 80 million units in 2015 worldwide and could only sell 72 million units. It previously predicted that it will be the first company to sell 100 million units but Huawei become the first Chinese company to sell 100 million units last year.
Xiaomi overtook Samsung and Huawei as the sales leader in 2014 in China.
Nabila Popal, research manager for mobile phones and displays at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, said that Xiaomi will have its share but will not appeal many as the region is very “brand conscious”.
Xiaomi is now looking to expand its products line as China’s smartphone market is slowing down.
