Published in Mobiles

Xiaomi loses millions to counterfeits

by on14 April 2015


The price of being China’s Apple

Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi is complaining about the ever-growing number of faked products. 

The company recently marked its fifth anniversary, but it’s already so big that it’s attracting a lot of counterfeiters. More specifically, people are copying its Mi Power Bank, which was introduced last year.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said the counterfeits had a big impact on powerbank sales, which have missed the company’s sales target by more than a half, reports Bloomberg. Xiaomi shipped 14.6 million powerbanks, but it was planning to sell twice as much, or more.

“If there were no counterfeits, our sales would be double or triple. The product has been recognized by everyone,” he told reporters at a press conference in Beijing.

Xiaomi is planning to bring its accessories to western markets this year. In addition to powerbanks, Xiaomi is marketing everything from smart extension cords, to fancy routers and wireless speakers (which we recently reviewed and found very good).

The company’s core business is phones, routers and smart TVs. The accessories are manufactured by a number of small startups, backed by Xiaomi.

Last modified on 14 April 2015
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