Xiaomi handset sales put 2015 targets in doubt – StreetWise Journal

Xiaomi is a new fish in the smartphone pond, but its growth has been remarkable. Even though Apple is yet to reveal its half-yearly results, IB Times has quoted an analyst named Neil Cybart revealing on Twitter that Apple has sold almost 110 million devices in the first half of the year.

However, hopes were that it could near-double its sales, hitting the 100m mark – the company itself claimed that it sold more than 60m devices previous year.

Lei optimistically pointed to the local environment as a reason to celebrate Xiaomi’s latest numbers.

While the Chinese market is saturated with smartphones, Xiaomi will be hoping that this will be an opportunity for its established customer base to upgrade to newer models like the Michigan 4 smartphone, or accessories like the cheap and popular fitness Michigan Band, a $15 wearable tracker.

Xiaomi, known as “China’s Apple”, is making its Redmi 2 smartphone available at its online store to Brazilian consumers for 500 reais ($160) starting on July 7.

But in many emerging markets, Xiaomi has to contend with miscellaneous protectionist measures such as a drive in India to promote local production and high import duties in Brazil, said Canalys Peng.

It has dominated the lower end of the Android market, entering the list of top five phone sellers previous year, despite its market being limited to just Asia.

Sales would need to pick up dramatically in the second half of the year to meet Xiaomi s 2015 target sales of between 80 million and 100 million handsets – a target revised from a flat 100 million set last year.

The three problems Xiaomi is facing are: China, China and China.