Here’s some good news (and bad news) for those who want to purchase some bang-for-the-buck devices from Xiaomi without all the hassle of going through Lazada’s online process. Let’s start with the good one: the Chinese tech brand will now bring its merchandise sales to offline permanently.
You may recall that the company did a few pop-up stores at malls last year, and it worked on creating a buzz among those interested in the brand, creating long queue of lines and a surge of interest in the brand.
While it may seem to be beneficial for those who aren’t fond of Lazada, here comes the bad news: Expect an increase in some, if not all, prices off their products. It’s understandable that the costs of operating offline tend to be much higher hence the online model they have been using since their inception in the country last year, and along with the importation costs that tend to fluctuate over time, we may see prices moderately escalate across all products once they hit the offline market shelves. This also goes to products they sell online, as they can’t offer two different price models due to government restrictions.
Here’s the statement from Mi Philippines on their facebook page:
Dear Mi fans,
As you may have noticed, some Mi products have had their prices increased, like our Mi In-Ear Headphones, which are now back in stock (P695 to P849).
As much as we would like to maintain our original prices, sadly, the costs we incur in bringing in products have not remained constant.
Aside from that, we are also working on adding another selling channel that you fans have been requesting constantly: we are working to have Mi products available offline soon. Yes, that’s right. You will soon be able to buy Mi from our official offline partner. We’ll announce more details about this soon.
As you all know, there are additional operational expenses that we will incur once we go offline, which is why we had to adjust our prices. Certain government regulations prevent us from having an online and offline price, thus, we are forced to maintain the offline prices for Mi products across all selling channels.
Rest assured that we are still committed to bringing you innovation that everyone can enjoy by keeping our prices as low and affordable as possible. Thank you for your continued support!
It isn’t the first time Xiaomi has established a local offline store, as it had put up lounges and boutiques both in China and India, as well as in the US sans the devices. Will this new move greatly benefit the Chinese tech brand’s sales? Only time can tell.