In April Solnik opened its first Xiaomi Store, the first physical store of the Chinese brand.
With a couple of months of delay due to import difficulties, the Chinese giant Xiaomi launched its first mobile phone assembled in Tierra del Fuego this Thursday through the Etercore-Solnik group, whose main shareholder is the owner of the Macro bank, Jorge Brito. This is the Redmi Note 11, the first model with which the company will try to settle in a market strongly concentrated in two brands: Samsung and Motorola.
This morning the Fuegian governor, Gustavo Melella, officially announced the landing. He pointed out that the plan provides an investment of 600 million dollarsand plan to disburse a total of $ 1,500 million over the next 2 years. 100 people were employed to start the project, with the possibility of expanding the workforce as other products are included in the national catalog.
Xiaomi’s arrival in Argentina was expected, but the lack of dollars postponed the project. local production it was scheduled for the first half of the yearSolnik’s qualified sources pointed out. In April, the company opened its first Xiaomi Store in the Abasto shopping center, where it offers the entire ecosystem of imported products: smartphones, 4K TVs, scooters, vacuum cleaners, scales and razors.
Xiaomi’s relationship with Solnik has been going on for years and the bet was made with oriental patience. So far the Chinese brand (it is the third largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world), has had a testimonial presence in the country, since the equipment was imported directlya disadvantage against Samsung and Motorola, which produce on the island through their partners Mirgor and Newsan, respectively.
Globally, Samsung and Apple are the leaders and Xiaomi is in third place. The goal of the Chinese brand is to get on the podium in Argentina, which it has already achieved at a regional level: according to the consulting firm Counterpoint, Samsung has 43.5% of sales in the second quarter of the year, followed by Motorola (19 , 5%) and Xiaomi (14%).
To climb into the country, Solnik faces the challenge of securities and the difficulties of accessing the dollars that the Central Bank stores. According to a qualified source from the group, the purchases of supplies abroad were financed on their own account. The long-term plan isconquer a market share similar to the rest of the world“He said. Just over 10 million units were sold last year and the industry expects a similar amount for this year.
The truth is that now Xiaomi, by producing locally, will have the same tax advantages as its competitors, which will allow it to enter the market with competitive prices. Industry sources say the plan initially plans to ship around 600,000 units annually as they install the brand through advertising campaigns.
Damiano Kantor
Source: Clarin
