Two of the biggest Chinese smartphone brands Xiaomi and Huawei are poised to stir up the Indian retail market by establishing exclusive outlets in new formats that will be a global first for them. Xiaomi, for instance, is setting up thousands of Mi Stores in rural locations. Its spokesperson said this wilThe move could further stifle Indian smartphone brands that are surviving on sales in such markets and intensify competition with Samsung since this is the first time any brand will set up exclusive stores in rural India at such a scale, experts said. Huawei, the world’s second largest smartphone maker after Samsung as per US-based researcher IDC, will set up 100 large franchise-owned exclusive stores in Indian cities for its Honor handsets, which are sold online globally, executives said. Huawei said its Honor spokesperson was not available for comment. Xiaomi, the makers of Redmi and Mi smartphones and televisions, will open the franchisee-owned Mi Stores in taluk-level areas. Currently, Reliance Retail is a large player in rural markets through small Jio stores that also sell mobile phones and electronics.
The development was reported by economictimes.com
