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The past 2020 has been a year in which technology has been more present than ever in Spain. He telecommuting and the new normal have meant that mobile devices, computers, monitors and even televisions have come to occupy a more relevant role in our lives.
This year has been especially good for Xiaomi, which has dominated the market and it has been crowned as the mobile brand most sought after by the Spanish. However, the true muscle of the Chinese company is in its ecosystem and in the possibilities it gives the user.
To review last year and forecast what the present will be like in 2021, Borja Gómez-Carrillo, Xiaomi country manager in Spain explains to OMICRONO what are the challenges that the company faces now and how it foresees the immediate future in the short term. A year that has started strong for the company as it has already launched its first phone of the year.
2020 has been a hectic year but in which technology has been reinforced, how has it been lived from within?
Indeed, in recent months, we have experienced, in a very palpable way, how technology has brought us closer to those people who we had far away, it has allowed us to monitor our health and that of ours, to move through cities more safely … Technology has become a window to the world that many of us did not have.
It is undeniable that 2020 has been a challenging one but, as you well point out, technology has positioned itself as a key ally in all aspects. Personally, I would say that since Xiaomi the last few months have meant learning and evolution in a double key: first, to reaffirm our purpose and the importance of making the best technology accessible to the greatest number of people; and, secondly, to further strengthen our innovation strategy in an increasingly demanding context and in which new needs have arisen.
Xiaomi with 5G
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In the most complex situations is where the vocation to contribute and propose solutions is more decisive. We have opted to be as close to our consumers, our fans and our partners as possible, trying to accompany them and make life easier for them and the people around them (which is, after all, the Xiaomi mission).
Xiaomi has conquered the Spanish mobile phone market, what is the formula for success?
Listen to our Mi Fans and consumers, adapt to what they need and offer them new innovative technological solutions that improve their day to day, constantly. In this process, our community of fans has been key: we cannot adapt to the real demands of the market without a process of dialogue, exchange of ideas and, above all, active listening.
We always have the vocation to share a space with our consumer that transcends a commercial transaction: in fact, only in Spain, Mi Community brings together more than 520,000 people. We strive to be a partner, a friend, who is able to solve real problems that the consumer has.
This same active listening is also carried out through our social networks and the 59 Mi Stores that we already have in Spain.
Right now on the web you can find about thirty telephones, how do you make the customer understand the differences in the catalog?
Today, virtually any area of our life can be improved through technology. However, as you say, the spectrum of people who, currently, seek innovative solutions to solve these issues on a daily basis is very diverse. So why bring the same solution to everyone? Offering consumers a wide portfolio of innovative devices with a careful design, high quality and honest and accessible prices has been key for us. This was the philosophy that gave birth to this company and to which it remains faithful. A philosophy that I think fits perfectly with the needs of many Spanish consumers.
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Is Spanish faithful to its phone brand or are you just looking for features and price no matter what mobile it comes from?
As in any other field, consumers are loyal to those products and services that meet or exceed their needs and expectations. In a year as complicated as this, and only two and a half years after arriving in Spain, we began the first quarter of 2020, reaching for the first time the first position by volume of smartphone shipments, according to data from Canalys. Despite the circumstances, we have managed to maintain that position for three consecutive quarters, leading the smartphone segment (at the expense of year-end data).
Offering a wide portfolio with carefully designed, high-quality devices at honest and accessible prices has been key for us.
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With this reflection, I seek to reinforce that becoming the favorite brand of mobile devices for Spaniards has been the result of the effort to stay close to our users, to give them what they need but, above all, to innovate and explore around us.
And, in addition to being faithful to the products and services that meet their needs, Spaniards are a consumer who is passionate about technology, constantly seeking to be up-to-date, always wanting the most recent innovations. And in that sense, they have seen in Xiaomi a facilitator of these innovative technologies.
Are mobiles the door to the product ecosystem or is it the other way around?
I would say that they are areas that provide feedback, that coexist, that generate synergies with each other. I believe that our day-to-day life and our way of interacting with the environment has evolved enormously towards interconnection: technology permeates everything around us. And we want to implement this natural tendency to make life easier for our users. It is something that, in addition, we have been doing practically since our origins and that supports us. Without going any further, by 2020 our world-leading consumer IoT platform has reached the figure of 289.5 million devices connected to it, excluding, in fact, smartphones and laptops.
Becoming the favorite mobile brand of the Spanish has been the result of the effort to stay close to the user.
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Obviously, it is also a line on which we are not going to stop betting; We have already made it clear that our model is evolving towards a ‘Smartphone x AIoT’ strategy, an area in which we are going to invest 50 billion yuan in the coming years and which will be our strategic focus. As smart connectivity becomes more integrated into our lives, the ‘Smartphone x AIoT’ strategy will obtain great benefits and synergies for the company and we are convinced that it will facilitate the transition to the hyper-connected life that will come from the hand of 5G for our users. and Mi Fans. The relationship between our smartphone business and the AIoT ecosystem will be very positive. But, I insist, always from a feedback key, because the AIoT area will help our smartphone business to expand to more application scenarios, winning the hearts of more users.
In Spain they have almost everything, what kind of products do you plan to bring that are in other markets?
Spain is a priority market for us. Consumers demand a great variety of solutions from us and we have been working very hard for the last three years to expand as quickly as possible our offer of innovative solutions for both devices and our Internet services (which we hope to bring to Spain as soon as possible. ). However, we cannot forget that this process requires a series of standards that we must comply with to ensure that the user experience is the best possible: from expanding our presence in retail to reach the largest number of users to strengthening our after-sales network.
In 2020, the strengthening of our strategy of New Retail (which allows us to have, in addition to our own physical stores and our e-commerce mi.com, a network of official points of sale both offline and online) has been a priority and I am convinced that it will help us to be more agile when bringing new technological solutions to Spain.
Xiaomi scooter.
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In addition, continuing to expand our product catalog in this market requires us to continue strengthening, in parallel, the knowledge we have of the Spanish consumer, their tastes, habits and needs, with respect to technology and smart devices.
In this sense, in addition to smartphones, we will continue to strengthen the lines of mobility, wearables, smart TV and smart home that have been so well received by the Spanish public.
The commitment to the connected home is strong, what are the products that have interested the most in Spain?
As we detailed in our latest financial results (corresponding to the third quarter of 2020), in markets outside of China, revenue from our IoT platform and its connected devices increased 56.2% annually, reaching an all-time high. In this context, some of the most prominent product categories have been sports bands, electric scooters and mobility solutions, and robot vacuum cleaners.
We will continue to strengthen the lines of mobility, wearables, smart TV and smart home that have been so well received
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These results lead us to continue expanding, in an increasingly diverse way, our portfolio of products in the ecosystem: not in vain, just a few days ago we just expanded it with the arrival in this market of three new very different devices such as Mi Vacuum Cleaner Mini, Mi 65W Fast Carger and Mi 23.8 “Desktop Monitor.
2020 has been the year in which many have changed their television, they have a TV division that has established itself, what can we expect from it in the future?
Yes, television has been an element that has accompanied us a lot in 2020 and that, in addition, from Xiaomi, we internally perceive as a device of enormous importance due to its potential to become the smart hub of our connected home. The Mi LED TV 4S family has had a wide reception in Spain and we hope to be able to announce, very soon, news in this segment to continue surprising local consumers.
Xiaomi’s smart speaker.
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In addition, we also strive to make the experience as complete as possible: not in vain, this year we have launched other innovations such as Mi TV Stick (the first distributed in Spain by Xiaomi) or Mi Smart Compact Projector (to ensure an even more immersive experience ).
They have reached an agreement with BBVA so that the banking app is on the phones, what are they looking for with it? How is the mark you want to leave in the Spanish market?
In order to consolidate our leadership position in Spain, it is a priority for us to establish long-lasting and trustworthy connections and relationships with the local ecosystem. Since our arrival, we have always sought to forge relationships and explore joint opportunities and are open to establishing new alliances. Furthermore, with collaboration agreements like this one, we want to demonstrate the company’s willingness to think and act like a local company.
This collaboration in particular demonstrates once again our desire to make the best user experience available to consumers and we trust that it marks the beginning of a fruitful relationship, focused on improving the lives of the users of our devices through the latest innovations. .
You may also be interested …
· Xiaomi Mi TV 4S 55 “review
We tested the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite: the cheapest 5G mobile on the market
· We tested the Xiaomi electric scooter: an ally for the city
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