Xiaomi, Huawei plan big retail push in India

Two of the biggest Chinese smartphone brands - Xiaomi and Huawei - are poised to stir up the Indian retail market by establishing exclusive outlets in new formats that will be a global first for them. Xiaomi is setting up thousands of Mi Stores in rural locations. Its spokesperson said this will generate more than 5,000 jobs in such areas. Xiaomi, the maker of Redmi and Mi smartphones and televisions, will open the franchisee-owned Mi Stores in taluk-level areas. The move could further stifle Indian smartphone brands that are surviving on sales in such markets and intensify competition with Samsung since this is the first time any brand is setting up exclusive stores in rural India at such a scale. Huawei, the world's second largest smartphone maker after Samsung as per US-based researcher IDC, will set up 100 large franchise-owned exclusive stores in Indian cities for its Honor handsets, which are sold online globally.