Millet in the eyes of outsiders

Lei Jun, the representative of the National People's Congress and chairman of Xiaomi, is highly sought after by foreign media at the two | conferences this year. Xiaomi jumped to the third place in the global smartphone market last year, ranking only behind Samsung in South Korea and Apple in the United States, bringing a new face to China's manufacturing industry. China's manufacturing industry suddenly shed its image of low-end foundry and integrated the resources of the industrial chain. , flexible and innovative, make the world admirable.

Xiaomi was founded in 2010, and the first mobile phone came out in August 2011. Global sales were 61 million units last year, and this year's target is 80 million to 100 million units.

Who is "Xiaomi"? What do you think of this tricky sign? Americans have a headache when they see X and don't know how to pronounce it. Xiaomi's marketing and public relations department has done a very good job, introducing the sign as "show me" - "show me", which is both appetizing and easy to remember. Xiaomi made a big splash at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January this year, but Barra, Xiaomi's international vice president, said that Xiaomi will have to wait a few years before entering the US and European markets. Have to wait patiently and whet your appetite.

The most important halo of emerging industries is the favor of investment circles. Xiaomi's $1.1 billion financing at the end of last year pushed the company's potential market value to $45 billion. This round of financing that caught the attention of the industry, aroused widespread curiosity in the foreign industry, and became the prelude to Xiaomi's appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show, which was very successful.

Lei Jun summed up three factors for Xiaomi's success: 1. Internet dividends, especially the rise of social media, created a platform for mobile communication to enter the game and created a home "ecosystem". 2. The dividend of the manufacturing industry, the "Android" operating system of Google in the United States provides a platform. As long as the semiconductor chips in the smartphone, the LCD panel and other components on the surface can be integrated, the supply chain for the production of smartphones is mostly concentrated in the Chinese circle. complete. 3. Consumption dividends, the domestic economic level has improved, and consumers have the ability to purchase smartphones and related application software.

Xiaomi is aware of the great changes in the production system of smart phones, instead of producing mobile phones by itself, it is produced by a foundry, which strictly requires excellent quality. Before Xiaomi became famous, Hon Hai muttered internally that other world-renowned customers were not so critical, but Xiaomi did not relax in the details.

If Xiaomi's vision is still on assembling mobile phones, then the emerging smartphone companies that have sprung up in China and India since 2009 can only fight marketing and price wars. However, Xiaomi only does online marketing. It saves a lot of expenses and quickly builds up a loyal fan base of the brand. Some analysts compare it to China's "Apple". In fact, Xiaomi is not just concentrating its efforts and launching generations of high-end products. At present, Mi Note is comparable to Apple's iPhone 6, and it also takes into account the basic models of low-cost and high-quality products, such as the low-end Redmi 2, which is combined with Xiaomi products. It is also extremely important to improve quality. In the vast Chinese market, taking into account both high-end and low-end is the key to success. It can also accumulate experience and help to enter other emerging markets.

More importantly, Xiaomi has seized the new business model. Although it is based on smartphone manufacturing, Xiaomi has a meager profit in mobile phone sales. The mobile phone is only a platform, and the profit part is in the middle of APP and video games. It is a kind of service project, so discerning American analysts immediately regard it as a software enterprise.

Xiaomi entered the field of smart home appliances, using router Wi-Fi to remotely control home appliances, and cooperated with JD.com and Midea to create smart home appliances. Manufacturers such as Haier and Hisense have all participated in this ranks and formed their own ecosystems.

This concept is actually not new. Before Xiaomi, Apple and Samsung also launched their own product models. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, well-known manufacturers such as Sony have launched these concept products. There is a cartoon ridiculing that the smartphone has become the compass of modern people, and you can't put it down when you enter the house, otherwise the air conditioner and toilet will not be able to be used.

The rise of Xiaomi has shocked Apple and Samsung, the world's smartphone leaders. It seems that every step has been taken right. It has not gone through the difficult old road of starting a business. This is a subversive success story in the 21st century. It is true that if we want to become a century-old cause, these few years are just a moment, and it is too early to make a conclusion. But it is undeniable that "Xiaomi Jiabu|qiang" is indeed a sudden emergence, challenging traditional thinking.

The so-called "step Qiang", according to the author, is mainly a financing channel. Especially in the latest round, 8 multinational capitals participated, including Temasek of Singapore's sovereign wealth fund. They are all veterans of the international arena. They made a bet and became a so-called stakeholder, and they are bound to take care of the growth of this baby.

Last year, Xiaomi's turnover was 12 billion US dollars, compared with Apple's 182.8 billion and Samsung's 200 billion, of course, it is still far behind. However, it has brought a sense of vigilance to these bosses. They chatted and consoled that Xiaomi's patents were very shallow. In the field of mobile communication, patents are a sharp sword, and they can attack each other with intellectual property infringement at any time. Apple sued Samsung for several years, and finally settled out of court. Ericsson sues Xiaomi for infringing patents on wireless networks. Although it is resolved, it may be an endless stream of troubles in the future.

Xiaomi is taking every step of the way in the face of such rules of the game. The development space for smartphones is in emerging markets. Xiaomi is targeting India and Indonesia, and will enter Brazil by the end of the year. These populous and developing countries, It is suitable for transplanting China's successful experience. The countryside is surrounded by cities, and the European and American markets are not the same. Xiaomi announced in early February that it will sell supporting products such as headphones and smart wristbands in the United States, waiting patiently for opportunities.

Xiaomi has set an international policy when it started its business to guide the company's layout and financing efforts. The market and public relations from an international perspective have a set of operating rules. Domestic companies that extend to international companies think they are "cool" and cannot resonate with overseas consumers. Why is Lenovo so dirty and Xiaomi so fashionable in the eyes of foreigners? From the art of the name to the message of the advertisement, Lenovo's obsolete looks like a sunset industry. International capital votes with money, no wonder if Xiaomi's current market value is estimated at $45 billion, it is already three times that of Lenovo.

Domestic export enterprises may wish to carefully examine the changes in the production system in their own fields. For medium-sized enterprises, it is impractical to drive innovation through R&D. The shock brought by Xiaomi is not only a smartphone, but also refreshes the international market's understanding of the potential of China's supply chain, and encourages domestic companies to find new ways of integration and create a new situation.

Zhou Naiping, Editor-in-Chief of World Manager, Visiting Professor of School of Media Design, Sun Yat-Sen University. Ms. Zhou taught East Asian history at American University and financial news at Hong Kong University. She was a senior reporter for Reuters, the founder and director of the Global Finance Project at the School of Journalism and Communication of Tsinghua University, and the author of International Financial News Knowledge and Reports. Op-eds represent personal views only.