KUALA LUMPUR: China-based consumer electronics maker Xiaomi plans to open six more Mi Stores in Malaysia next month, bringing the number of its authorised stores here to 10.
Xiaomi South-Pacific Region head Steven Shi said the new stores would be located in Melaka, Johor Bahru, Alor Setar, Kota Kinabalu, and Seberang Prai.
The existing Mi Stores are in Kuala Lumpur (two outlets), Putrajaya and Penang.
Speaking to reporters after launching its latest model, Redmi Note 5, here today, Shi said the Malaysian market remained attractive amid the maturing global smartphone market.
Although the mobile penetration rate in the country stood at 130 per cent, the smartphone penetration rate was only 70 per cent, he noted.
“We still see room for us to grow in the emerging markets, and Malaysia is one of the 70 countries where we have presence. The Malaysian market is significant to Xiaomi,” he added.
There have been concerns over the global smartphone slowdown following the weaker sales recorded by global smartphone manufacturers.
On the expansion plan for its Mi Stores, Shi said Xiaomi aimed to open one in every major city so that its innovative products would be more readily available to everyone.
Xiaomi launched Redmi Note 5 today by offering two variants – 3 gigabyte (GB) RAM + 32GB storage variant priced at RM799 and a 4GB RAM + 64GB storage variant costing RM999.
Pre-orders for Redmi Note 5 start tomorrow on Lazada, and the device can be purchased offline from the Mi Stores starting May 5.
– BERNAMA