“We are optimistic about our performance in 2018. We entered Thailand about four months ago, so it is still an early stage, but we have already mapped up an ambitious plan for the Thai market in the year ahead, including expanding sales to more retail locations, introducing new smartphones and a wide range of lifestyle technology products,” Wang added.
By the end of this year, the company aims to have a presence in over 150 retail locations in Thailand.
Next year, it aims to have more than 50 authorised sales points, including Authorised Mi Store and Mi Zone store in major Thai cities.
Currently, the company operates three Authorised Mi Stores: the flagship Authorised Mi Store at Seacon Bangkea , Authorised Mi Store at Imperial World Samrong, and the Authorised Mi Store at Pantip Plaza, Pratunam.
“We will definitely open more stores and expand to more retail locations in Thailand. Our Authorised Mi Stores, in particular, is a great way for consumers to experience our smart phones and ecosystem products in person,” Wang said.
VST ECS and Fanslink are Xiaomi’s local partners in distribution and retail, respectively.
“Since we entered Thailand only four months ago, our partners have been very cooperative and supportive; we value all our partners and potential partners. In Thailand, we work with VST ECS as our distributor, and Fanslink as our retailer. In the long run, we, of course, are open to establishing partnerships with more local players, as we continue to look for opportunities to increase our presence in the market,” Wang added.
He said that Thailand is the second-largest market for smartphones in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia, with estimated sales of 25 million units in 2017. To date, Xiaomi has entered Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Myanmar.
“These are all promising markets with high potential, and we will continue our efforts to grow in the region,” he added.
He said that Xiaomi is a very unique company with a unique business model.
“We are a smartphone company, but we are also an Internet company and a new retail company. Because of this, we are able to make products packed with great technology available at extremely accessible prices.
The price factor is not the key here, but the fact that we offer far more to users in all price segments, and across a range of products including lifestyle technology products,”
When asked about the Thai customers response to the Xiaomi brand, he said: “Thai customers are starting to know us! We will definitely be working even harder to raise the awareness of Thai consumers,”
The company entered the Thai market with one of its best flagship dual camera phones, Mi 6 , in August and has just announced the launch of Mi MIX 2, its full-screen display smartphone.
In the local market , its available smartphones include Redmi 4A, Redmi 4X, Redmi Note 4, Mi A1, Mi Max 2, Mi 6, Redmi Note 5A and Mi MIX 2.