Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer Xiaomi revealed that it won’t be attending Mobile World Congress 2017. A spokesperson for the company shared this information with TechCrunch on Thursday but didn’t provide any reasons for Xiaomi’s decision to skip one of the largest industry trade shows on the planet. Some industry watchers are speculating that the company may not have any new devices to announce in Barcelona next month which is why it decided to skip the event entirely. That theory may hold some merit given how Xiaomi’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun recently said how the firm grew too fast during its starting years and will soon be focusing on sustainable growth, meaning it’s possible that Xiaomi will now concentrate its efforts on a smaller number of devices.
The company’s decision to skip the latest iteration of MWC doesn’t necessarily suggest that Xiaomi’s refocusing efforts will entail ignoring the Western market entirely as it has only been a few weeks since the Chinese tech giant arrived at CES 2017 to showcase a variety of products. Latest reports suggest that the Beijing-based phone maker still has plans to host and attend events to promote its products and services outside of its home country. However, it does seem as though the company might become more conservative with its future promotional activities.
Despite enjoying a positive reception at CES, Xiaomi didn’t start 2017 on a high note. Industry experts believe that Lei Jun’s comments about unsustainable growth and his decision to not publicize the company’s 2016 sales figures suggest that Xiaomi stopped recording rapid growth which it was enjoying for half a decade. The Chinese tech giant also recently lost Hugo Barra, its Vice President of International who just joined Facebook’s virtual reality division. Given the current state of affairs, Xiaomi’s decision to skip MWC 2017 isn’t too surprising, but the company will likely return to the spotlight in the near future. The Beijing-based consumer electronics manufacturer isn’t the only major player in the industry that’s skipping the upcoming trade show in Barcelona – as while Samsung will likely be in attendance, it reportedly won’t be launching the Galaxy S8 at the event.