Xiaomi, in partnership with a Chengdu-based unit of Yanlord Land, plans to build a smart home community in the capital of Sichuan Province. (Photo : Reuters)
For the past five years after Xiaomi Inc. was founded by Lei Jun in 2010, things have been doing well for the company. After all, it has an inspiring mantra: “Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen.”
Lei did. And the Xiantao-born Computer Science graduate continues to believe so.
The rise of Xiaomi can be attributed to the charismatic leadership of Lei, clever marketing strategies, strong online presence, fiercely loyal fans (who named themselves “Mi-fans” and annually celebrate a “Mi Fan Festival”), and its undeniably affordable prices.
Xiaomi, in terms of revenue, made it on the third spot in 2013 among China’s largest e-commerce companies. It recorded sales of $5.2 billion.
Last year, the company became the third biggest seller of smartphones. It earned $11.97 billion, according to the sales figures presented on Lei’s Weibo account.
A chunk of that revenue came from a one-day sale of it smartphones and accessories on April 8, 2014, in a Mi Fan Festival. How much? Some $243 million.
Aside from its remarkable profitability, the company’s innovativeness didn’t come unnoticed. Fast Company, an American technology-business-design magazine, ranked it third on its own list of “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies 2014.”
The Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm, placed Xiaomi at number 35 on its October report on “The Most Innovative Companies 2014.” Aside from Tencent Holdings and Huawei Technologies--at numbers 47 and 50, respectively--Xiaomi was the only Chinese company who made it on the list of 50 international companies.
The year 2015 also started great for Xiaomi.
American research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) said in a press release posted on its website on June 3 that Mi Band, Xiaomi’s version of wearable device, sold 2.8 million units during the first quarter of the year.
On its fifth anniversary, it sold two million handsets online, which set a record according to the Guinness World Records. To borrow the tag line of Guinness, it can now be said that Xiaomi is “officially amazing.”
Another amazing feat, perhaps, was the first time Lei addressed the public in English. It didn’t happen in the U.S. or in any country where English is primary language, for that matter. It was in India during the launch of Mi 4i on April 23.
Interacting with Indian Mi-fans gathered at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi, the 45-year-old entrepreneur struggled with his English. The crowd didn’t mind.
Lei’s talk went viral online, particularly his “Are you OK” line, and some even put music to make it appear like an actual song. Good or bad publicity, it was still publicity for Xiaomi.
The Mi 4i launch in India made it to the front pages of the Wall Street Journal on June 8. The New York-published newspaper has more than 2.2 million readers every day.
If at present the question “Are you OK?” will be thrown to Lei, basing from his 2014 net worth of $9.1 billion and judging by the consistently impressive track record of Xiaomi, one may already know the answer.
Way back in Nov. 2014 at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, China, Lei made a bold public declaration. He said that Xiaomi would be number one in the world in five or 10 years' time.
Coming from Forbes Asia’s 2014 Businessman of the Year who believes that a pig can fly, one could be optimistic for the company, particularly the Mi-fans.
In the end, only time will tell how high Xiaomi can further soar.
