The year 2016 was a great one for many smartphone companies, especially in India. Xiaomi, being one of them, grew significantly, so much so that it ranked the second largest smartphone vendor during Q4 2016. The company's Redmi 3S series played an important role in achieving the target.
According to the latest IDC report, Xiaomi managed to sell more than 3 million units of Redmi 3S, Redmi 3S Prime and Redmi 3S Plus smartphones in less than six months. The company is known to set new benchmarks in terms of sales and this is just another feather in the company's hat.
"Xiaomi climbed up to 2nd place with 10.7 percent share in CY Q4 2016 against 3.3 percent share in the same period last year. Year-on-year shipments grew threefold while sequential growth was 15.3 percent in CY Q4 2016. Xiaomi also expanded its retail presence with the launch of an exclusive model for offline channels in CY Q4 2016," IDC said in its press release.
Xiaomi has a strong smartphone portfolio in India, which comprises of some of the most popular recent releases such as Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, Redmi Note 3 and Redmi 3S series. The company is also compliant with PM Narendra Modi's "Make in India" approach, giving it a boost with local manufacturing and pricing its smartphones competitively.
During the third quarter of 2016, the company said it sold a record number of smartphones exceeding 2 million units in India, which marked a 150 percent year-over-year growth for the company.
Chinese smartphone makers have had great response from the Indian market, with brands like Lenovo and Xiaomi drawing majority sales in December, IDC report revealed. In November, Xiaomi had announced that it sold one million units of Redmi 3S and Redmi 3S Prime in less than four months of launch, making the devices the best selling Xiaomi smartphones in India.
Xiaomi products offer great value for money with their premium specs offered at an affordable price point.
"Product is at the core of Xiaomi's strategy, and a strong line-up of products with distinctive technological innovations has been critical in driving our India story. This has been supported with robust operational growth through improvements in our online and offline sales structure, hiring of key talent, expansion of our customer care and after-sales service, and increasing our manufacturing capacity," Manu Jain, Xiaomi India MD, said in a press statement.
