Xiaomi is going through its most difficult phase in India and, in a bid to revive its fortunes, has now turned to the very people it once overlooked: the retailers. In the wake of Digit’s investigative report highlighting the brand’s steep decline and strained retailer relations, Xiaomi has initiated a series of nationwide meetings with its retail partners in an apparent attempt to stop the bleeding.
SurveyAccording to sources familiar with the matter, Xiaomi has begun hosting region-specific dialogues across key zones. The goal is to listen to retailers’ concerns, re-evaluate incentive structures, and chalk out a roadmap to revive Xiaomi’s dwindling offline momentum.
The Chinese phone maker has held meetings with retailers across India, who have now asked for better sales margins and uniform pricing for products across online and offline channels. Along with this, Xiaomi has also been asked to expand its product portfolio in the country.
The timing of this damage-control exercise is no coincidence. Digit’s report, published late last month, exposed the cracks in Xiaomi’s India playbook, ranging from flawed pricing strategies and diluted brand positioning to an alarming disconnect with retailers.
Perhaps most damning was the revelation that retailers across India had grown disillusioned with Xiaomi, citing poor margins, rigid sales targets, and opaque incentive structures that made rival brands like Vivo and Oppo far more appealing to stock and sell.
Once revered for democratising smartphones with budget-friendly, high-performance devices, Xiaomi now finds itself scrambling to maintain relevance. IDC ranked the brand seventh in India’s smartphone market for Q1 2025 – a massive fall from its former No. 1 spot. The latest Canalys data reported a 38% YoY shipment decline, the sharpest among major smartphone players.
Slipping Across Screens
Xiaomi’s troubles are no longer limited to its smartphone business. The company is now facing a parallel decline in India’s fast-growing smart TV segment, a category it once led with aggressive pricing and online-first tactics.
According to the latest IDC report, Xiaomi’s smart TV market share has dropped sharply to 11.7% in 2024, down from 14.2% the previous year. What makes this fall more alarming is that it comes amid a booming market: India’s overall smart TV segment grew by 8.6% during the same period, crossing 12.1 million units.
In a clear response to the backlash, Xiaomi has mobilised its regional teams to sit down with channel partners across different markets. While the meetings are being held behind closed doors, insiders say they focus on three key themes: restructuring margin models, relaxing sales target thresholds, and enhancing communication pipelines between company representatives and retail store owners.
Is It Too Late?
While Xiaomi’s recent outreach efforts signal a willingness to change, analysts warn that rebuilding retailer trust will take time and a significant change in the attitude of top management.
To regain its footing, Xiaomi will need more than just listening sessions. Analysts suggest a deeper realignment that includes:
- Recalibrating price bands for Redmi models
- Creating exclusive offline SKUs to win back trust
- Reintroducing simpler, more flexible target schemes
- Bolstering marketing and Gen Z engagement for the Xiaomi flagship series
If its current outreach to retailers evolves beyond tokenism into a consistent and collaborative strategy, the brand may yet recover. If not, the market it once led may move on without it.
Digit will continue to monitor Xiaomi’s outreach and “premiumisation” efforts and their impact on the company’s retail footprint in the months ahead.
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Siddharth Chauhan
Siddharth reports on gadgets, technology and you will occasionally find him testing the latest smartphones at Digit. However, his love affair with tech and futurism extends way beyond, at the intersection of technology and culture. View Full Profile
