Mi, with its 3,000+ exclusive retail stores, has the largest exclusive retail network for physical goods in India despite the pandemic. Today, it announced initiatives to increase its offline footprint in the country.
Over the next two years, Xiaomi India plans on opening 3,000 additional exclusive Mi Stores, taking the total number to over 6,000 in India. Staying true to its mission of democratizing technology, the total number of touchpoints will be increased to 30,000. For context, a Mi Store is a small exclusive outlet for Mi and Redmi products that is typically under 500 sqft in size and is located in smaller towns and cities.
In 2018, the company set a Guinness world record by opening 500 stores on the same day in India.
Mi will also earmark a support package worth Rs 100 crore to foster this expansion and foster retail entrepreneurship, as a part of the Grow with Mi initiative. The funds will be used to help set up these stores and get them running. With an emphasis on rural markets, it will create 10,000 employment opportunities – taking the total company strength to more than 70,000.
To ensure that the newly onboarded partners can hit the ground running, Xiaomi has also launched the Mi Retail Academy in India. It will offer virtual courses that will cover a host of topics such as product training, sales, CRM, retail, choosing the right location, hyperlocal marketing, store design, best practices and more. This step will help the entrepreneurs sharpen their business acumen, even if they have no prior retail experience.
While the company operates at slimmer profit margins than the competition, it believes that Mi Store franchises can be more profitable owing to the higher demand, wider product portfolio, stronger pull and quicker turnaround.
At the virtual press conference, Manu Jain, MD at Mi India said that they would be open to the idea of partnering with exceptional hardware startups and offering them visibility at these stores in the future — a similar model to how the company operates in China.
Talking about Grow with Mi, he said “With this new initiative, we are determined to expand our presence and reach out to our customers in the convenience of their hometowns. We are confident that the new initiative will significantly contribute to our offline retail presence and also will help prospective entrepreneurs from small towns and villages to embark on their journey of success.”
The announcement comes just weeks after the company added three new factories in India to manufacture phones and TVs.
You can apply to be a Mi Store franchise owner here
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