I think by now almost everyone has bought (or at the very least, tried buying) a Xiaomi phone or product. Over the years the Chinese OEM has gathered a large fan following in India, but most of its fans or prospective buyers complain about its products being out of stock. This has been one of the biggest complaints from its customers and even reviewers. To offer some relief, the company recently moved onto the offline market, launching the Redmi 4A and today the company announced a dedicated store for all its products in Bengaluru. Manu Jain, MD, Mi India tells us that the Mi Home will never go out of stock and you will always get the devices they sell at their online price. To be clear, Xiaomi has tried the offline route in India before, but never with its famed Mi Stores.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the launch, Manu Jain told us that the Mi Home is basically a way for their customers to get a feel of the devices before they buy them, while also offering them the devices itself. He was very clear about the fact that the whole concept of having a dedicated store will not diminish Xiaomi's presence online. He said, “Mi Homes and Mi.com are two extensions for the same business”. Also, the reason behind opening the first store in Bengaluru is the fact that Xiaomi’s office is very nearby and he tells us that anyone from the company can just drop by anytime and take user feedback. This will help them understand what the customers want and the company plans to launch almost 100 Mi Homes in India. Major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad will be getting the next Mi Home stores.
Talking about the Mi 6 and Android updates on the current Xiaomi phones, Jain did not give us a definitive answer. However, he did tell us that the company will be launching a new device soon and plans to launch newer devices every 2-3 months. He did not give us a concrete answer on whether Xiaomi plans to bring the Mi Notebook to India either. He said that while the company has a long list of products in China, bringing them to India with the current import duties would mean higher price tags. However, he suggests that future Mi Homes will have dedicated experience zones that will have all Xiaomi products. Via this, the company will be taking feedback from people at the store itself and planning what products it should bring to India based on the same.
On the topic of Mi Home exclusive products, Jain confirmed that at the moment they have no such plans. However, he said the Mi Homes will cater to all the products the company has in its Indian portfolio, and people can buy them without pre-booking. However, in the event of a Mi Home going out of stock, customers will get an F-Code then and there, via which they can jump the queue online. The Bengaluru Mi Home opens for the public on May 20.