Xiaomi is planning to expand its presence in Taiwan by opening five physical stores in the country during the second half of 2017. Taiwanese newspaper Economic Daily News (EDN) reported that the news regarding Xiaomi’s expansion was confirmed by Henman Lee, the president of Xiaomi Taiwan. According to Lee, Xiaomi has been selling its products in Taiwan for over three years, and throughout that period, it has sold over eight million devices to local consumers. Products from Xiaomi’s portfolio which are sold in Taiwan include power banks, portable speakers, earphones, Wi-Fi routers, and even LED lamps.
The firm will be opening its first store in Taichung, Central Taiwan, while the second one will be based in Hsinchu, Northern Taiwan, both of which will be opened this September, according to recent reports. The third physical store will be opened in Tainan, Southern Taiwan in October, while no details on the remaining two have been yet been given by neither Xiaomi or industry insiders. One of the Chinese manufacturer’s latest products, the mid-range Redmi Note 4X has been especially popular in Taiwan, having sold over 45,000 units in April and May. On top of that, Xiaomi has plans to sell more devices in the Far Eastern country and will be bringing the Mi 6 and Mi Max 2 to the market next month. The Mi Max 2 will be made available for purchase on July 1 for NT$7,499 ($246), while the Mi 6 is scheduled to be released in mid-July for NT$12,699 ($417).
Xiaomi first made headlines when it introduced the Mi 3 back in 2014. The Mi 3 was a handset that packed premium specs and sold at an affordable price, offering high value for money. While the company quickly established itself in Asia as an affordable maker of consumer electronics and managed to sell tens of millions of smartphones through its online stores, its sales have dropped over the past year in a significant manner, largely due to strong competition from other Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei, OPPO, and Vivo, all of which have a strong online and offline presence in their home countries. Xiaomi is now trying to expand its reach and gain market share by opening physical stores throughout Asia, with the company reportedly being set to open 1,000 stores in China alone by 2020.