China’s Xiaomi is back in the Philippines, to open 5 stores this year

Beijing-based phone manufacturer Xiaomi Inc. officially marked on Tuesday its return to the Philippines with two new stores, and three more in the works for the rest of the year.

In a press conference in Makati City, Xiaomi Southeast Asia Regional Director John Chen said the company targets to open a total of five brick-and-mortar stores—officially called Mi Stores.

“The Mi stores. Yes, we will (open more), I think this year. I think we are looking at probably around five Mi Stores,” he said.

The first Mi store opened in TriNomaNorth EDSA last week. Another store at SM MegaMall will open on March 17.

”Right now, we are looking at another one in Manila. And possibly another two in other cities—the main cities, so probably Cebu and Davao,” Chen noted.

“Total of five this year, depending on the situation. If the plan goes well, we may increase,” he said.

Xiaomi left the Philippines in 2015, given its limited resources, and decided to focus on the Indian market.

“Back in 2015, it was the beginning of Xiaomi’s expansion to overseas markets. Instead of going everywhere, with just a little bit of everywhere, we want to go big in one place,” Chen said.

“That’s why back in 2015, we decided to go with India. So all the resources were allocated to India to make sure that the Indian market grows, and we have seen the success,” he said, noting that Xiaomi is now the top phone manufacturer in India.

In the Philippine market, Chen said the company plans to tap the middle-income segment with affordable smartphones.

“We want to, firstly, make confidence our movement first because we know we have been away for some time,” he said.

“People were forced to buy these products, because these were the products they can afford, because it’s the price point. We believe we can change this so that the customer has another choice for the price point they can afford,” Chen noted.

The company is now selling its Redmi 5A smartphone at P4,590 per unit, while its Redmi 5 Plus is available at P9,990 per unit. —VDS, GMA News