By WU Yangyu
In the first half of this year, Xiaomi began selling off the company's stores known as Mi Home. Nothing is changing but the ownership. To customers, all is as it ever was.
In Shanghai, with 23 Mi Home stores, four are set to close and seven have been sold. The move is said to benefit dealers who now control their own property, but it's obviously not an act of benevolence on Xiaomi's part. The wannabe carmaker is desperately cutting every cost it can.
Xiaomi's troubles stem from declining phone shipments, and an unavoidable a shift in strategy. Profit from the phone business has been declining. At the end of last year, Xiaomi President LU Weibing said the company planned to close or sell all marginal stores while trying to open more.
Xiaomi had a bad year in 2022, but Q2 GMV this year was 20 percent up. Adjusted net profit in Q2 was up 147 percent year-on-year.
Xiaomi is claiming to be all set up to launch an EV this year, which has entailed significant expenditure.
