With its Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro, Xiaomi has achieved a surprising move upmarket even if it turns against a part of its community. Faced with this situation, Yan Liu, country manager in France, answers our questions.
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With an introductory price flirting with a thousand euros, Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro are presented as a real position on the part of Xiaomi. Five hundred euros separate the Mi 10 Pro of Mi 9, launched just a year ago. A surge in prices that has not failed to question the future strategy of Xiaomi. However, Yan Liu, Country Manager France of Xiaomi, believes that these new smartphones are part of the continuity of the group. Meeting and explanation.
- Why did you choose to change strategy with the Mi 10?
Quite honestly, there is no new strategy. We have kept our line from the start. We celebrated our 10th anniversary a few days ago, and we have neither the desire nor the vocation to make a turn. We remain true to ourselves. There are reasons which pushed us to raise the prices, but it is not a change of strategy.
- The difference between the Mi 10 launched at € 799 and the Mi 9, having started at € 499, is still spectacular. How do you explain it?
I think the comparison with the Mi 9 is difficult. First, there is an additional cost linked to the transition from 4G to 5G. Then, we put forward the lightest version in terms of RAM and ROM for the Mi 9. We thus had 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB for 499 €. And our community had already criticized us for that at the time. With the definition of our photo sensors, each shot took almost 12 MB, if we add games, the memory fills up quickly. So we listened to our community. This time, we are on 256 GB of memory by default. After that, it’s not just that. We took a lot of criticism about the Mi 9, on the speakers. We added two better quality speakers and a whole chain of changes. We listened to the fans to release the Mi 10. Before, when there was a compromise to be made between the price and the technical sheet, we chose a more aggressive price. Even if it means compromising on the technical sheet. This time, we have chosen not to make concessions. While retaining our 5% margin.
Huawei has shown us how a Chinese brand can conquer the Western market. We didn’t do everything like them, but they inspired us.
- Will this new compromise spread to the rest of Xiaomi smartphones?
For us, the Mi 10 is a technological showcase. We don’t need to import all of our know-how into each of the product lines. The rest of the products will remain close to the price / quality ratio.
- So no reason to think that Xiaomi will slowly abandon the mid-range?
Not at all. We will continue to develop our entry and mid-range. We have no desire to change our strategy.
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- Before Xiaomi, Huawei operated a similar strategy in France. Is it a desire to follow in Huawei’s footsteps?
There is no horse racing with Huawei. We have wanted to offer a smartphone like the Mi 10 for a long time. But to offer such a smartphone, it is necessary to pass certain levels. We couldn’t do it until we were a popular brand. Passing the threshold of 100 million smartphones sold, this allows us to have an attractive negotiation lever with our suppliers. Obtain components at more affordable costs and offer a more technically attractive smartphone. For the 10 years, we have reached maturity on this side. So it was time to launch this smartphone. Huawei has shown us how a Chinese brand can conquer the Western market. They’re three years ahead of us. We didn’t do everything like them, but they inspired us. For sure.
- What were the differences with Huawei?
We are forced to follow Xiaomi’s global strategy. And we want to keep in France the group policy concerning the 5% margin on hardware. We cannot afford to experience price erosion over the months, as Huawei does.
- Finally, what are Xiaomi’s sales targets for this period?
We don’t have a specific goal. We observed consumption behavior in China, where containment started 7 weeks in advance. There, sales are distributed on the web from the third week, and store sales after the 7th or 8th week. In France, demand is already going up a little. We saw it with the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro, in just 15 minutes, we were out. Of course, we didn’t have as much stock as last year, but it’s still a good sign.
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