“We will lead with social media, with the channels that allow us to get in touch with the young generation that are enthusiastic about technology,” said the former Google executive. “We are definitely going there.”
Even though there is no timetable for when Xiaomi will launch its range of products, which include everything from phones and tablets to laptops and televisions, Barra did say the U.S. market is a “very important market” for the company.
“The U.S. is a very important market for any consumer electronics and lifestyle brand, certainly for us as well. Obviously, we’ve got to time things carefully.”
Xiaomi began its carefully timed campaign previously, when the company filed over 2,000 patents in the U.S. as a way for it to develop a patent “war chest.” Furthermore, Xiaomi officially entered the South Korean market in March, but did so with its smart products and not its phones.
Even so, the Chinese juggernaut has plenty of reason to speed up its entry into the U.S. For one, competitors like Huawei and OnePlus continue to increase their footprints in America, even though most folks pay for their phones with monthly installments through national carriers. Furthermore, Xiaomi has ceded enough ground to Huawei for the latter to overtake the top spot in the Chinese phone market, so expanding its presence to the largest phone market in the world based on revenue is a business-savvy decision.
