Reaching developing markets depends on understanding that consumers with a small budget are very different from consumers who aren’t interested in spending much
Daily Update: An Interview with Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra (Part 2) on Accusations of Copying, Xiaomi’s Product Roots, and Where the Money Comes From
Good morning, It’s Martin Luther King Day in the US, so I know many of you may not be at work today, but I wanted to wrap up my interview with Hugo Barra, Vice President of International for Xiaomi. My original intent was to run the whole interview on Friday, but when the meeting afterSubscribe […]
Daily Update: An Interview with Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra (Part 1) on Xiaomi’s Strategy, Target Customer, and Unexpected Success in India
Good morning, A special treat today (and Monday): I was able to spend some time with Hugo Barra, Vice President of International for Xiaomi. We had a wide-ranging conversation about Xiaomi’s strategy, their target customer, success in India, how they make money, and accusations that they copy Apple. In fact, it was so much thatSubscribe […]
Daily Update: Notes From the Xiaomi Event, Refining Xiaomi’s Ambition, Additional Notes
Good morning, Hello from Beijing! Today was Xiaomi’s latest announcement and I published a Storify of my live-tweets here. Today’s update is my initial reaction to what was presented. On to the update: Notes from the Xiaomi Event I arrived at the China National Convention Center a little over an hour before the Xiaomi eventSubscribe […]
Xiaomi’s Ambition
Xiaomi, the Chinese smart phone company that late last month raised $1.1 billion at a $45 billion valuation, sells way more than smartphones: Mi.com boasts over a thousand items, and it’s the third-largest e-commerce site in China. One item it doesn’t sell, though, is a AA battery charger. Only Apple: I clearly remember when this […]
Daily Update: Christmas Gifts for Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi
Good morning, In case you missed it, James Allworth and I had a debate about his post on drones on the latest episode of Exponent. If you’re looking for last-minute gift idea, don’t forget about Stratechery Gifts. Once you make your payment I will send you a registration link for the gift membership; you canSubscribe […]
Daily Update: Xioami’s Profit, Xiaomi to Sell Air Purifier, Xiaomi India Ban Lifted
Good morning, Two quick things: Many of you have asked about how you might gift Stratechery memberships. I will have a solution for you on Friday Tomorrow my co-host on Exponent, James Allworth, will be filling in for me on the Daily Update. The content and opinion are his alone, and I suspect it willSubscribe […]
Daily Update: The Silver Lining in Sony and Target, Iowa Launches Smartphone Driver’s License, Xiaomi Banned in India
Good morning, There have been some really great discussions on the Stratechery Forum over the last week. If you haven’t stopped by, do check it out. Please note, if you have login issues, make sure you use your member name, not email address on the login page. I’m hoping to address some of the siteSubscribe […]
Daily Update: The Problem with Broadband in America, Alibaba, Xiaomi Smash Records on Singles Day
Good morning, Happy Singles Day! We’ll get to China, but we start in the United States. On to the update: The Problem with Broadband in America Big news from the White House: “Net neutrality” has been built into the fabric of the Internet since its creation — but it is also a principle that weSubscribe […]
Daily Update: Getting Xiaomi All Wrong, How is Slack Worth $1.2 billion?
Good morning, Let’s get to it – on to the update: Getting Xiaomi All Wrong Xiaomi’s financials (it is a private company) were leaked to the Wall Street Journal: A confidential document viewed by The Wall Street Journal shows that Xiaomi’s net profit nearly doubled last year, making it a lucrative business in an industrySubscribe […]