Xiaomi gives away $22.7m worth of rewards after record-breaking smartphone sales

xiaomi giveaway
Attendants are silhouetted in front of Xiaomi's logo at a venue for the launch ceremony of Xiaomi's new smart phone Mi Max in Beijing, May 10, 2016 Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo/Reuters

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi is giving away US$22.7m worth of rewards to customers beginning Tuesday, December 19 after the company managed to turn around its smartphone sales in October. Now, Xiaomi is expecting to hit 90 million units in sales before 2017 wraps up.

From December 19 until 26, Xiaomi will be distributing one million vouchers of 100 yuan each and one million vouchers of 50 yuan each which consumers can use to buy hardware products available on Xiaomi's website. If consumers will not be able to secure cash vouchers, they can still get gift coupons to redeem products and accessories.

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On Chinese social media Weibo, Xiaomi chief executive Lei Jun said they want to extend their gratitude to their consumers through the giveaway after the new milestone. During the second quarter of 2017, the company was able to make a U-turn in sales, selling a record-breaking 23 million smartphones within three months. This figure is 70 per cent higher from the first quarter sales.

At the end of the third quarter, Xiaomi was able to sell 70 million smartphones worth US$151m by the end of October. Xiaomi previously targeted to reach this number in November. By the end of 2017, Lei said they are expecting to sell a total of 90 million smartphone units.

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After the company became the world's most valuable start-up in 2014, it became a rough road for Xiaomi since due to the stiff competition in China.

Market research firm IDC reported in November that Xiaomi is now the fourth largest smartphone vendor in China with a market share of 13.7 per cent in the third quarter. Huawei consistently led the pack, followed by Vivo and Oppo. In India, Xiaomi is currently giving Samsung Electronics Co Ltd a run for their money.

This article was first published on December 19, 2017
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