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Xiaomi’s Mi TVs, which debuted in the smart TV market in February 2018, tripled its shipments in the second quarter of 2018 making it the leading brand in smart TVs, according to a report by International Data Corporation (IDC) India.
“Before this, Sony, LG, Samsung and Panasonic were the key brands in the smart TV category, and Xiaomi has already surpassed all of them,” said Jaipal Singh, associate research manager, Client Devices at IDC.
‘Game changer’
Xiaomi shipped more than one million Mi LED TVs in the first nine months of launch between February and October, according to Raghu Reddy, head of categories and online sales, Xiaomi India.
Singh felt what really worked for Xiaomi was their pricing, as they offered their 32-inch smart TV ₹10,000-₹12,000, cheaper than what other brands were offering back then, calling this a “game-changer”.
As of November 15, while a Xiaomi 32-inch smart TV costs ₹ 13,999, a Samsung 32-inch smart TV costs ₹ 23,999, on Flipkart.
He explained that the smart TV market is hardly one or two years old, initially started by LG, Samsung, Panasonic and Sony.
“In the initial two years, the broadband penetration was really low and the cellular connectivity wasn’t good.”
Xiaomi India currently manufactures Mi TVs locally in Tirupati, in partnership with Dixon Technologies. The factory will result in a production capacity of 100,000 Mi LED TVs per month by Q1 2019, said Reddy.
BusinessLine reached out to Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Sony about this. They declined to comment.
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