Xiaomi turned 8 years old. How it all began

Exactly 8 years ago, on April 6, 2010, Chinese businessman Lei Jun with six partners founded Xiaomi. The Chinese startup gained fame through the custom firmware MIUI, and today it is one of the largest manufacturers of smartphones and smart devices.

"Small rice"

This is how you can literally translate the name Xiaomi (小米). The first closed beta MIUI developers then still little-known companies rolled out on August 16, 2010, and on December 10 a public release of the firmware was held. Here's how it looked in the beginning:

In August 2011, Xiaomi introduced the brand-name smartphone Mi-One with the MIUI cover, which sold 3.5 million copies. The manufacturer made a bet on low prices and online sales. And it worked! In 2012 (when Mi 2 and Mi 2S came out), the device shipments amounted to 7.19 million, and in 2013 - the year of the launch of the first budget-holder of the Redmi line - they jumped 160% to 18.7 million.

In 2014, Xiaomi launched an offensive on the world market, and for international operations, the ex-googler Hugo Barra (already moved to Oculus VR) was responsible. In the same year, the company launched a line of TVs, which has since grown significantly.

After 2015, when more than 70 million smartphones were sold, sales went down. Online channels were not enough to maintain growth (especially since this model was used by competitors), and Xiaomi took up retail. Within a few years, the company will open more than 1,000 branded stores in China, and partners are helping to develop a network of monobrand stores in the world market.

The new strategy has already begun to bear fruit: in 2017 Xiaomi returned to the top five of the largest smartphone manufacturers with 92.4 million shipped devices (IDC data). Sales grew by almost 75% compared to 2016.

Today Xiaomi is estimated at $ 68 billion . The manufacturer also helps other companies that make up the Mi ecosystem. They produce products under their own brand, but sometimes they unite with Xiaomi to launch joint projects. One of the vivid examples is the Huami startup, which produces Mi Band fitness bracelets and simultaneously develops its own Amazfit gadget line .

Xiaomi in Ukraine

In 2016, Xiaomi officially came to Ukraine, where its representatives became the Allo network with a distributor of Digitaltech (although NIS / mi.ua was engaged in certification and delivery of devices to the country since 2013).

In honor of her birthday, Xiaomi launched a global Mi Fan Festival with discounts and other surprises for customers. For example, in Allo, smartphones are given a Mi-band fitness bracelet as a gift and promise a prize draw.