HOW A STARTUP IS BESTING GIANTS IN THE GLOBAL SMARTPHONE MARKET

摘要

A fledgling, four-year-old electronics brand has quickly become a force for well-established marketers to reckon with, thanks to a potent combination of online flash sales, passionate fans and a cheeky mascot. Xiaomi just overtook Samsung to become the No.1 smartphone vendor in China in the second quarter, according to research firm Canalys. And it is now the fifth-largest vendor of smartphones worldwide, according to Strategy Analytics. The company, which sells products ranging from smart TVs to a sleek $13 fitness tracker, keeps marketing costs low by counting on fans for social-media PR, and it passes savings on to consumers. During its online flash sales at home and abroad, stock sells out in minutes, sometimes seconds. About a year ago, Xiaomi hired Amanda Chen, a longtime employee at Yahoo Taiwan (the island's largest internet portal), to head its marketing outside of China. Since then, the "Apple of China" has spread to four new countries in Asia, while keeping its sights on the U.S. for the future. Meanwhile, it changed its brand name to "Mi," more palatable for international consumption than Xiaomi (pronounced shee-yow-mee), which remains the company name. Yet the company's quick transformation from startup to giant has come at a cost, exposing it to more probing scrutiny.