Xiaomi confident of robust performance in India festive quarter

While market research firm Canalys gave the Chinese smartphone brand top slot in the India market in the September quarter, Counterpoint Research made Samsung wear the India smartphone market crown.

New Delhi: Riding on bumper festive sales amid launching attractive schemes, smartphone maker Xiaomi on Thursday said it is confident enough to perform in the best possible way in the fourth quarter in India while maintaining its lead.

While market research firm Canalys gave the Chinese smartphone brand top slot in the India market in the September quarter, Counterpoint Research made Samsung wear the India smartphone market crown.

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“There are three agencies which provide data — IDC, Canalys and Counterpoint. As per Canalys, Xiaomi was the largest smartphone vendor in the country in Q3 2020 and IDC is also about to share data soon. We are expecting to score better,” Muralikrishnan B, Chief Operating Officer at Mi India, told IANS in a candid conversation.

According to Canalys, Xiaomi was the largest smartphone brand in the July-September quarter. Counterpoint Research, however, said that Samsung pipped Xiaomi by 1 per cent market share to become the leading smartphone company in the country after two years with 32 per cent year-on-year growth.

To further cement its position in the highly-competitive India smartphone market, Muralikrishnan announced “Mi Smart Upgrade”, a buyback scheme for Redmi and Mi devices.

With users looking at upgrading to the latest offering under the Redmi or Mi portfolio, they can now opt for the plan to upgrade and enjoy new models at an affordable price point.

“Due to growing dependence on smartphones as well as availability of affordable smartphones, the average smartphone replacement cycle has reached 12 months. As per industry reports, consumers are being more aggressive replacing their device every year but we saw significant challenges that users face who are looking to upgrade their devices every year,” Muralikrishnan elaborated.

With “Mi Smart Upgrade”, users get the freedom to encash their device any time after 3 months till 15 months of purchase, with exchange value ranging from 40 per cent to 70 per cent of the SRP of the phone.

With this plan, users can get up to 70 per cent of assured value within 4-6 months, 60 per cent for 7-9 months, 50 per cent on 10-12 months and 40 per cent on 13-15 months, from the date of purchase and final billing.

Users can also get an assured buyback value of 40 per cent of the suggested retail price even after the warranty expires till 15 months from the date of purchase of your old device, which is potentially an industry first offering.

“Diwali is the time when consumers want to upgrade to new smartphone and the latest offering under the Redmi or Mi portfolio will provide them an option to upgrade and enjoy new models, at an affordable price point,” Muralikrishnan said.

The plan will be available at the Mi authorised retail outlets and can be activated through an easy enrolment process with minimal documentation.

Users can purchase these buyback options starting at the price point of Rs 399 for devices such as the Redmi 9 Prime going up to Rs 1,999 on premium smartphones like Mi 10.

The consumers can buy the ‘Mi Smart upgrade’ add-on, along with their smartphone purchase, at all Mi Authorised Retail outlets, the company said.