Smartphones from Xiaomi especially in the initial period they were associated with an attractive price-performance ratio, but this year their prices were not as encouraging as before. Have the creators of Mi 10 stopped respecting less wealthy customers? It is worth asking yourself this question in the context of the last speech of Wang Mei, who was the company’s vice president. A woman speaking at the China Human Resources Management Annual Conference on a panel devoted to human resources management unexpectedly used the word “Diaosi”, which in Chinese slang means someone who is poor, deprived of prospects and knowledge (“refers to a young man of average appearance and social position” – Wikipedia). What’s worse, Mei, in the sentence, connected it with a group of young people, comparing them to losers.
The former deputy director of Xiaomi used the word “Diaosi”, which in Chinese slang means someone who is poor, deprived of prospects and knowledge.
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is under fire after one of its executives publicly referred to its target market as “diaosi” — a slang term referring to “losers” or people generally seen as the country’s underclass. pic.twitter.com/RhFL03fVIy
— Sixth Tone (@SixthTone) November 26, 2020
Wang Mei stated, “that in the future whoever keeps Diaosi with him will control the world.” Of course, her words caused quite a stir in social media. Xiaomi referred to the situation after a few days admitting that Wang Mei regrets his reckless behavior and the damage caused to the fans of the brand, and that she resigned, which was accepted. The event was also commented on by the interested party, admitting that she left after negative comments, and that her comments were made at an industry meeting and they were not to be shared anywhere else. “My speech in no way represented Xiaomi’s point of view. I hope that my words will not cause any misunderstandings about the company,” wrote Mei.
Xiaomi, as was to be expected in this situation, distances himself from Mei’s position, admitting that he does not represent his point of view. The milk has already spilled, and the words were spoken by one of the most important people in the corporate staff. On the other hand, Xiaomi is a popular company, so consumers will rather forget about the whole incident, especially since the words responsible for this speech suffered the consequences. By the way, it should be remembered that Xiaomi, which entered the market in 2010, initially dedicated its devices to a market niche, where money does not spill over and customers prefer cheaper solutions than expensive flagships. Moreover, some fans sometimes call themselves “diaosi” although it doesn’t change much in this situation.
– .
