By Richard Mann, Contributing Reporter
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – While success-spoiled Huawei is declared pariah by most of the Western world, its competitor Xiaomi is heavily investing, intending to hijack Huawei’s global market share. Brazil is one of the important target markets.
The Chinese electronics giant has launched five new phones, announced a partnership with DL Eletrônicos, and confirmed the opening of its first official store in Brazil.
So far, the company has only confirmed a single unit, scheduled to open on June 1st at Shopping Ibirapuera, in the south zone of São Paulo. However, it confirms its intention to expand to other regions which have yet to be specified.
In addition to the physical stores, Xiaomi will also sell its products through its website, which will be adapted to Brazil, since the current Mi.com page continues to redirect traffic to the company’s global site.
Partnerships were also announced with more traditional e-commerce brands, which should help in the distribution of Chinese products in Brazil. Among these companies are Lojas Americanas, Lojas Pernambucanas, and Magazine Luiza.
The announcement is significant as one of the shortcomings of Xiaomi’s first entrance into the Brazilian marketplace was the difficulty it had in bringing its handsets to the public. This occurred because the company had initially bet only on direct sales, without partners.
Xiaomi sells more than mobile phones. The most interesting item is the Mi Electric Scooter. It is similar to other electric scooters recently seen on the streets of large capital cities thanks to rental services like Grin and Yellow.
The M365 Pro Scooter will arrive in Brazil as part of Xiaomi’s expansion project in the country. With its internal battery, it promises 30 kilometers (19 miles) without recharging. It also recharges its battery when the user brakes, and charging can be controlled using the Mi Home application.