Despite Xiaomi's decline in smartphone sales, Xiaomi, Inc. assured its public that this will not have a major impact on the company as their profit growth will be derived from the sales of smart home devices and its software eco-system.
In an interview of Reuters, Xiaomi's global vice president Hugo Barra said that the company's business profit was not only based on the smartphone's sales by itself and does not have an adverse effect on their overall revenue.
"Basically we're giving [handsets] to you without making any money... we care about the recurring revenue streams over many years," Barra told Reuters in an interview. And he added, "We could sell 10 billion smartphones and we wouldn't make a single dime in profits."
Last 2014, Xiaomi, Inc. was valued at $46 billion and has been considered as the world's most valuable start-up company at that time. Looking back, Xiaomi is the best-selling smartphone brand in China and was expected to hit worldwide. However last year, according to the research firm IDC, the company was not able to meet its smartphone global targets by 12% and even decreased its sales by 45% on China.
Hello Vegas! Will be coming to @CES with an all-new product at our global launch. Any guesses? Place your bets now! https://t.co/kjAzE0hPO1 pic.twitter.com/Rbs1Fa0cG8
— Mi (@xiaomi) November 23, 2016
Xiaomi is focusing more on its range of services and accessories like air purifiers, headphones, and smart technology as these are their key earning drivers. Moreover, Liu De, Xiaomi's Vice President also said that they are expecting for doubled sales this year driven from its range of smart home devices.
The Chinese company has already made investments in India and Southeast Asia and gearing towards the U.S. market. Meanwhile, as reported by CNET, Xiaomi is planning to unveil an all-new product at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this coming January 5 as their first participation in the electronics trade show. However, the details announced are conservative enough and the product might not be a smartphone.
