Waiting for the next Alvin Tse at Xiaomi Indonesia

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Alvin Tse ended his position as Country Director of Xiaomi Indonesia and continued his career as General Manager at Xiaomi India. Photo: dock Xiaomi Indonesia

JAKARTA – It is undeniable that Alvin Tse has colored the Indonesian smartphone industry during his tenure as Country Director of Xiaomi Indonesia since late October 2019. His figure is well known by Xiaomi fans, consumers, the public, netizens, media, and influencers.

Likewise, as the top figure of a technology product brand that is easily accessible to share suggestions and submit complaints. Alvin is also known as a person who is able to articulate well the reasons why the product in his hand is worth considering buying.

Until then Friday (3/6) arrived. Through his social media account @atytse, Alvin announced that he will continue his career in a market that is no less competitive. Namely, as General Manager at Xiaomi India. After 2.5 years of work, the position of Country Director for Xiaomi Indonesia was replaced by Wentao Zhao, who is also not an old person.

Wentao has high flying experience for smartphone sales in the Indonesian market, he was included in the team that ensured Xiaomi’s performance in Indonesia during the Alvin Tse era to record a number of achievements.

However, with the new position he assumed, of course, he had to carry a lot of expectations on his shoulders. Should Wentao be the next “Alvin Tse” for the Indonesian market?

Before continuing to write, the author needs to convey a disclaimer that the author is a former journalist who had the opportunity to be part of Xiaomi Indonesia for two years (2020 to April 2022). Thus, the author can present a perspective from the outside as well as from the inside.

No longer magical
Alvin came to Indonesia at the right time and did the right thing. When he was first in charge, one of the problems he found in the Indonesian market was the problem of stock scarcity, which prevented consumers from buying. In the midst of their anger, the term “ghoib” emerged as a way to escape the frustration of seeing the slim possibility of them being able to get a smartphone every time Xiaomi held a flash sale.

The term “ghoib” is quite detrimental because it erodes the most important thing in building any brand in the market, namely trust. How can you trust a brand when users even find it difficult to get the product when it is sold, the frustration increases when they find out that the same item is being resold at a much higher price by a third party. There is a sense of injustice there.

Alvin puts priority on solving this problem, and one of them is seeking solutions to make it easier for consumers to get products. Now it’s easier to get Xiaomi products because they are also available on marketplace platforms such as JD.id, Lazada, Bukalapak, Tokopedia, Akulaku, or blibli.com. For those who choose to buy directly, Xiaomi is also expanding strategically so that there are now more than 80 Xiaomi Stores, 400 more Xiaomi Shops, and thousands of Xiaomi Preferred Partners at various points in Indonesia.

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