Xiaomi targets 100 million smartphone sales for 2018
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is targetting shipments of more than 100 million smartphones for next year following a 70 percent quarter-on-quarter growth, according to its founder and CEO Lei Jun.
The Chinese company shipped 23.16 million handsets in the second quarter this year, up 70 percent over the previous quarter, which is also a record-high in terms of quarterly shipments, Lei said in Beijing, according to a Sina news report.
Xiaomi has regained growth momentum after two years of "adjustments" following severe output constraints, Lei said. It was the biggest challenge Xiaomi has ever met since its establishment, but shipments in the previous quarter indicates that its production capacity is now gradually improving, he added.
The company is also actively laying out plans to expand both home and abroad. Apart from its key online sales channels in China, Xiaomi has opened 123 brick-and-mortar stores in the country so far.
Internationally, revenue in the Indian market has increased by 328 percent in the first half of 2017 over the same period last year, with its market share in India also climbing to second place. Indonesia, Russia, and Ukraine are also key overseas markets for Xiaomi, according to Lei.
Lei added that the company will recruit over 1,000 research and development talent next year.
Data from research firm IDC showed that Xiaomi shipped a total of 9.3 million handsets in China in the first quarter of 2017, owning 9 percent market share and ranking fifth behind Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Apple.