Andre Yoskowitz
6 Nov 2014 12:59
Founded in 2010, Chinese smartphone OEM Xiaomi has seen a meteoric rise to become the world's 4th largest smartphone maker by volume and with it, has come exponential growth in revenue and profits.
Thanks to new documents, it appears that Xiaomi's net profit almost doubled from 2012 to 2013 and is likely to see similar gains in 2014. The documents show an 84 percent rise in profit to 3.46 billion yuan ($566 million) in 2013, with a 75 percent rise expected for 2014.
Xiaomi sells cheap smartphones with high-end specs, including the incredibly popular Mi4 flagship which starts at 1,999 yuan ($330 USD). Currently, the company only sells devices in China, but has promised expansion in the future.
The company has built up a loyal following thanks to its social media and forum strategy in which the company almost always responds to all requests. Even the company's operating system has been tweaked based on fan feedback. By having loyal fans, marketing has been cheap and has kept costs down. According to the documents, sales and marketing expensives were a measly 876 million yuan, or just 3.2 percent of its overall revenue.
Source:
WSJ