Not-so-sweet home

3 July 2015 By Robyn Mak Follow @mak_robyn

Falling sales over the past six months come as a nasty shock from a handset maker that commanded a $45 bln valuation just months ago. Xiaomi is grappling with a slowing home market and competitors catching up. China’s tech prodigy will have to look elsewhere for opportunities.

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Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi said on July 2 it sold 34.7 million handsets in January to June this year, versus 35 million in July to December of last year. This is the first sequential fall since the privately held company began disclosing six-month figures in 2013. For 2015, Xiaomi aims for minimum sales of 80 million smartphones.

Smartphone shipments to China are expected to grow 2.5 percent to 431 million units in 2015, according to data tracker IDC. Shipments to China contracted by 4 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2015 – the first year-on-year decline in six years.

Xiaomi was founded in 2010 by tech entrepreneur Lei Jun. Its investors include DST Global, All-Stars Investment and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC. The company’s last fundraising in December 2014 suggested a valuation of $45 billion.

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