Xiaomi celebrates its 10th anniversary with the commemorative speech by Mr. Lei Jun, President, CEO, and Founder of Xiaomi. In the speech, Lei Jun shared an overview of the 10-year journey Xiaomi has gone through and the group is now listed on the Fortune Global 500 list.
Mr. Lei Jun started his speech by memorizing Xiaomi’s modest beginning, “From the very beginning, Xiaomi’s dream was to create the best phones in the world at half the price which everyone can own it.”
The main idea is to improve the user experience by combining hardware, software, and internet services – a potential that will challenge all companies specializes in hardware.
“Xiaomi built the‘ original’ dream team ’during the start-up phase using talent from leading technology companies in the industry. The suitable company name also played an important role when starting a business and Xiaomi (spelled in Chinese pinyin, or Little Rice, literally the “小米” in Mandarin) was finally selected after considering that it is the best choice fitting team’s purpose,” he added.
Keeping a positive mindset
With no hardware expertise, Lei Jun developed a mobile operating system along with a team of software engineers. By focusing on widely used functions such as phone calls, text messages, contacts, and desktops, the team finally successfully developed the first version in just two months. Then, an online forum was created where volunteers were invited to install ROMs on their own devices.
“The moment we realized that 100 users willing to take unpredictable risks and switched their phones to MIUI, we were really touched. We didn’t promote anything, but from 100 people in the first week, the number of users doubled to 200 in the second week, and once again doubled to 400 in the third week,” Jun shared.
The first time MIUI attracted attention was not in the country, but abroad. A month after this launch, on XDA, a US forum for phone software developers, one user suggested MIUI enthusiastically. Since then, MIUI has become a trend among tech connoisseurs around the world. Following that, many users began volunteering to build different versions of Mi Community in each country and region, where MIUI was developed into multi-language versions, and considerable efforts were made to adapt this operating system to be suitable for many different models. A global campaign with widespread spread took shape and has sown the seeds of Xiaomi’s globalization. This is also the origin of Mi Fan culture.
Creates the first Xiaomi device
Xiaomi has formed a hardware development team with the most elite talent in the world. Our goal is to make as best phones as possible, and that demands a very high supply chain standard. This poses a major challenge as most of the top supply chain companies are not willing to work with small companies. With great determination, Xiaomi finally tried to secure supply chain partners for its first-generation smartphone, Mi 1. It became the best-selling product, with 300,000 smartphones. It was produced in the first batch and total registered sales were 7 million units.
First-generation of Redmi phones
After the success of Xiaomi’s business, we received a request for help in advancing the domestic manufacturing supply chain based on the trend of Xiaomi Phones. In early 2012, we started the implementation of the “Redmi Project” (spelled in Chinese pinyin as Project Hongmi). We focus on making smartphones for Chinese people and work with domestic suppliers first.
Mr. Lei Jun shared: “The popularity around the first generation Redmi was much higher than expected, it was extraordinary that a total of 44.6 million units were sold. This figure, in 2013, helped drive the growth of the domestic supply chain. “
Our extensive and comprehensive ecosystem
Xiaomi’s reputation has also led to many panicky extremes. Many people have tried to learn from Xiaomi. “We’re also willing to reveal our full model, hoping to help more entrepreneurs and drive reform in more industries with our model. In 2014, we started this “Ecosystem Plan” to incubate more startups, ”explained Lei Jun.
Over the past six years, Xiaomi has established more than 100 companies in the ecosystem and marketed more than 1,000 products loved by its users.
Flies through the mountains
On December 12, 2013, the Chinese national television channel CCTV awarded Lei Jun the honor of becoming one of the figures of the year in the economic and business sectors. This is the most prestigious award for a Chinese businessman.
In the five years, Xiaomi has finally seen revenue grow from 20 billion yuan to 174.9 billion yuan, a remarkable growth of nearly 800 percent.
Fall to the bottom of the cliff
However, starting in 2015, Xiaomi has signs of slowing down in terms of growth. In the smartphone industry, there’s no precedent for a turnaround after sales plummeted. At that time, Xiaomi was standing at the intersection of life and death.
The flagship Mi MIX series
In early 2014, MIX stems from a number of ideas proposed by Xiaomi engineers during a discussion “What will the smartphone be like in the future?” At that time, the idea of a bezel-less smartphone was a breakthrough.
After a few hurdles, Mi MIX was born. It was later added to the collection of three of the world’s most famous design museums, including the National Design Museum in Finland.
“The success of Mi MIX is thanks to the company’s invaluable technology-focused culture. Engineers are our property. To bring out the best of our engineers, to innovate and explore unexplored fields, we have created the annual Xiaomi Technology Awards. This is the highest honor that Xiaomi gives to the core R&D team, who have brought outstanding technological breakthroughs and contributions. The prize is shared worth $ 1 million. ” Lei Jun shared.
Product quality
The price to performance ratio is the key to Xiaomi‘s success. Over the past few years, Xiaomi has tried its best to improve product quality regardless of cost. These innovations have earned Xiaomi numerous awards and trophies, both in China and abroad. In 2019, Xiaomi received the national top quality and technology award.
From 10 to infinity
Xiaomi has had many milestones and experienced many great achievements and moments. Here are the three most prominent moments:
First, it was the initial share issuance and the 5% announcement. Before Xiaomi‘s initial public offering, on April 25, 2018, a launch event was held at Wuhan University, where it was chosen to announce a decision approved by the Board of Directors, a promise to users that our hardware business will never exceed 5% of net profit after tax. If the return exceeds 5%, we will seek to return the portion of 5% to our users. Lei Jun’s philosophy is “A good company makes money, a good company conquers the hearts of consumers”.
Second, the Xiaomi facility opened its doors last July. And finally, on the Fortune Global 500 list.
Future strategy
Lei Jun shares three points in this strategy.
First, back to being a startup again. Lei Jun said: “To get out of this predicament, we need passion from the start-up stage. Talent must be valued, incentives need to be given and strategic opportunities must be seized, ”said Lei Jun.
Second, internet + production. Lei Jun continued, “We believe in the power of the Internet and its ways. We will continue to improve production capacity with the Internet. We have developed numerous high-end manufacturing facilities and designed a fully automated high-end smartphone production line. The Xiaomi Industry Fund has invested in more than 70 semiconductor and smart materials manufacturing companies, in order to shape the future of becoming a “maker of manufacturing materials”.
In the end, plan longer, go further. “We will value everything from a 10-year perspective, and do things that will be valuable in the long run. In the meantime, we will keep a conservative strategy,” he said.
Also on the occasion of this anniversary, Xiaomi not only pointed out new products but also declared its statement over the next decade.
Mi 10 Ultra with many breakthroughs in technology, 120X super zoom camera, number 1 in the world according to DxO Mark, 120W wired fast charger, 50W wireless fast charger … Courage and strength in the competition of Xiaomi on High-end smartphone market is driven by these innovative technologies.
Redmi K30 Ultra will make users have no regrets when owning this flagship smartphone, this is how Xiaomi expresses its dreams and 10 years of a companion with Mi Fan.
Mi TV LUX Transparent Edition, the world’s first mass-produced transparent TV. It is truly wonderful to make the impossible become possible.
Xiaomi will constantly explore and innovate to bring people the most advanced technology.
via DoanhNhanh
