Xiaomi to focus on mid-to-high tier market in China, CFO says

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An employee, left, hands a Xiaomi Corp. branded shopping bag to a customer inside a Xiaomi store. 

“The market’s average selling price increased 15 [percent on-year] in the second quarter,” Xi Wang, a senior market analyst at IDC China, wrote in a report. “This suggests that consumers are willing to pay more for a phone targeted for their needs, including not just better cameras but also emerging categories such as gaming.”

Wang added that Chinese users continue to spend more and more time on mobile phones, and therefore, smartphone makers should emphasize things like “design, quality, and brand image” to drive replacements in China.

Internationally, Xiaomi’s focus depends on various markets that it operates in, according to Chew.

“For the Indian market, in particular, because of where it is in terms of its [gross domestic product] growth overall, and its level of consumption spend, the consumers are actually demanding more entry-to-mid-tier level phones,” he said, adding that users in Western Europe preferred more mid-to-high range devices.