Xiaomi smartphones are now officially available for purchase in the UK. The Chinese smartphone giant stepped into the UK last week and started selling some of its smartphones and lifestyle products online. Now, Xiaomi has opened its very first retail store in London. The company is expanding its reach in Europe and wants to become…
Xiaomi smartphones are now officially available for purchase in the UK. The Chinese smartphone giant stepped into the UK last week and started selling some of its smartphones and lifestyle products online. Now, Xiaomi has opened its very first retail store in London. The company is expanding its reach in Europe and wants to become the biggest smartphone brand globally.
The new store is located in Westfield London and saw its very first customers on Sunday, November 18. Due to impressive demand, the store went out of stock on day one and will be closed until Tuesday for restocking.
The first brick and mortar Mi Store in London saw a lot of customers on the day of its opening. There was a big line as Xiaomi had announced several promotions, deals, games, offers and more for the day. For example, the first person in line won a free Mi 8 smartphone, while the second one got the Mi Electric scooter and the third won a Redmi Note 5. The first 300 customers also received a free goodie bag from Xiaomi, which contained special gifts such as the Mi Band 3.
The company is currently only selling select smartphones and accessories via the offline store. It will sell the Pocophone F1, the new Redmi Note 6 Pro, the Mi A2, Mi A2 Lite, the Mi 8 Pro, Mi 8, Mi In-ear headphones Pro 2, Mi Sports Bluetooth Earphones, Mi Headphones Comfort, Mi Power Bank, Mi Band 3, Mi Smart Night Light and the Mi Electric Scooter. The pricing for these products can be found on the official Xiaomi UK website, which also sells them.
Before launching the Mi Store, Xiaomi started selling the Pocophone F1 via Amazon UK. You can purchase the phone from the Amazon site as well. However, if you live anywhere near Westfield London, you can personally check out the available devices before purchasing them. The online Mi Store has more products available for purchase, including the entire Redmi 6 Series.
The China-based company is quite diverse in its offerings. Xiaomi makes everything from LED lights, TVs, Air Purifiers to some of the best smartphones in the world. Most of its sales come from China and India, where it is leading in market share. In India, Xiaomi recently overtook Samsung to become the number one smartphone seller. As of now, Xiaomi doesn’t really have a huge global presence. It does sell devices in more than 70 countries across the world but is still not a big deal in the United States and other regions.
With its recent endeavors in Europe, the company has spread its roots in several more countries. Xiaomi is now available in Italy, France, Spain and the UK. It is also planning on bringing its smartphones to the US in early 2019. The company sells some of its accessories in the United States though, but only via online stores. Products such as the Mi Scooter, Mi Box, Mi Powerbank and Mi Headphones, can be purchased in the US. Apart from the above-mentioned regions, Xiaomi also has some presence in the Middle East, Central, and South America.
Nevertheless, Xiaomi has a long way to go to become a world leader in smartphones. It faces tough competition from other Chinese brands such as Huawei, which is now the second biggest smartphone brand in the world.
