Photo / Wang Di from Spain
There are 8 authorized Xiaomi cooperatives in Spain. According to statistics of third-party data agency Canalys, Xiaomi Mobile shipped 2.4 million in Europe in the first quarter, ranking third in Spain and fourth in Europe.
Yesterday, with the opportunity of the new machine Xiaomi A2 global release, Xiaomi showed a new situation in the Western European market; and all this, it is only two weeks away from Xiaomi Hong Kong.
As for how Xiaomi completed this data growth in the official landing in Western Europe for 8 months, we invited the senior vice president of Xiaomi Company after the conference, and now Wang Xiang, the head of the overseas business department, talked about various aspects. 'small details'.
1, define 'new Android One'
The Xiaomi A2 released in Spain is Xiaomi's second Android One smartphone, which corresponds to the Xiaomi 6X national version. The native Android system + Snapdragon 660 AIE+ mid-range product pricing is its characteristic. In the month, the company used the 5X as the prototype to create the first international product A1, and then announced in November that it will fully enter the Spanish offline market. It is the first step of Xiaomi's market in Western Europe.
On the other hand, this may be a new attempt for Google's Android One.
When Google first found us, it was not certain that Xiaomi would consider Android One device. After all, the early Android One took the strategy of ultra-low-end rapid popularity. Xiaomi has many years of experience in hardware, and hopes to bring better to users. Some of the experiences. But in the end, the two sides finalized, the product part is 'responsible for Xiaomi's full responsibility' - 'based on this kind of cooperation attitude, we have the current A series products, I think this is also the most successful Android One series equipment'. Wang Xiang said quite excitedly.
2, the same target user as the impression is not the same
Outside the product is the user, accompanied by the annual exhibition, Spain and Spain seem to have made such a symbol: they go to work every MWC, there are months of holidays throughout the year, do not like the technology Internet; they love Life, but may not love mobile internet and internet of things very much.
However, for the current Xiaomi Spanish authorized store, things seem to be different.
'Our users are very interested in IoT products, at least at this stage. The bracelets and scooters are very enthusiastic. 'But this may also be related to Xiaomi's 'mass base' in Spain. Wang Xiang scene For example, in the early MIUI top 100 core rice noodles, there are 2 Spanish rice noodles. At the press conference, we also saw a lot of local rice noodles.
From the price segment analysis, the composition of users in Western Europe is more complicated, and it is also a place different from the Indian market. Excellent purchasing power makes this market have a lot of demand on the flagship machine. Similarly, not very keen on digital products, but catch up with 4G upgrade users. Not a few. In this regard, there is a parallel strategy of A2 and A2 Lite.
3, about the choice of authorized store products
When it comes to Xiaomi's entry into Europe, the opening of authorized stores often carries a little symbolic meaning. Further, which ecological chain products are placed in the store to represent Xiaomi? This is to talk about 'selling what', but there is his own behind him. doorway.
Take the building block robot as an example. 'We don't really have any special purpose. We mainly want to let everyone know more about us. It is more fun to compare geeks. Last year we launched the scooter is also the idea, and scooters in Spain, France and Italy. They are very popular. '
Rice rabbit building block robot rabbit building block robot and put aside 'selection', the bigger problem is 'transplantation', Wang Xiang said 'this is a very heavy workload'.
'Although we all say the European region, in fact each country's standards are not the same; different languages, sockets, packaging, we also have a headache for a long time to get these. And this is only one of the challenges; including products After-sales problem, we also try to choose our own
For example, Xiaomi notebook is currently available in Spain, but you should first replace the keyboard with Spanish.
4, the old topic of intellectual property
'We have approved seven or eight thousand of the more than 20,000 patents we applied for in the past; some of them are generally overseas' as the head of intellectual property rights of Xiaomi in the past few years, Wang Xiang is talking about this all manufacturers marching This is the case when the common problems overseas.
'The issue of intellectual property is part of the business model in our industry; there are dozens of related disputes handled every month including our well-known international brands. We are naturally no exception. Of course this is a continuous investment problem, you There must be more technology to exchange with other brands'
In the next two years, under the guarantee quantity, 'how to improve the quality of intellectual property assets' has become a new topic for Xiaomi.
5, and then enter the United States in 2019
Previously, Wang Xiang had said that he would enter the US market in 2019. As for how to get this time, we have a more detailed answer on the spot.
'The characteristics of the US market are dominated by operators. The network band and domestic ratio are more complicated, and more network engineers need to be invested. This is not the same as Xiaomi’s familiar model. We are used to designing a product that can target more The better the user. In addition, our energy is limited at the same time, and we cannot advance all the markets in the world.
In essence, the 'operator model is not the comfort zone of Xiaomi' is the key. Take the Spanish market as an example: Although online e-commerce, offline authorized stores, offline public channels have Xiaomi figure. But talk about The operator market is still in the exploration period.
Written in the end: Watching Europe's trip to Xiaomi after listing
In the open letter at the beginning of the month, Lei Jun once summarized the future growth space of Xiaomi and summarized it into three major strategies. Two of them are:
Xiaomi should further promote internationalization, and realize international business income as early as half of total income.
In the next ten years, Xiaomi’s IOT (Internet of Things) business is expected to reach 40% to 50%.
Obviously, the expansion of the European market is undoubtedly the intersection of two things. Wang Xiang said frankly 'is an opportunity but also has pressure'. We talked about so many opportunities before, but the pressure still exists.
'We looked at the Western European market in May and June last year. Many models sell more than 400 Euros, but in fact it is also the level of the domestic thousand yuan machine. Not only mobile phones include eco-chain products, but our millet products also have a sense of design. The blow gave Xiaomi the opportunity to rapidly expand the market. 'The new market will always have a peak period of impulse.' However, at present, Android One can only detect the mid-end price at most.
Therefore, how to verify its competitiveness in high-end products may be the problem that Xiaomi will face immediately after the rapid growth period.