Lei Jun Leaps to Celebrate Xiaomi’s Single’s Day Success

Beijing Capital Airport and Beijing South Railway Station welcomes a mass of “refugees” from the field of media and public relations. Most hadn’t changed clothes for two or three days and had greasy hair and bags under their eyes.

The victims of the latest e-commerce war that raged for two nights and one day looked drained. But there was one team member still alive after Single’s Day: the boss.

Lei Jun was beaming with smiles when he was seen at a state banquet. According to a recent Weibo update, his company Xiaomi achieve more than 2.46 billion yuan in sales on Single’s Day.

With such great revenue, it’s no surprise Lei was seen jumping on his desk in celebration.

At midnight on November 11, Xiaomi officially began its 2017 Tmall Single’s Day Event.
After only 3 minutes and 57 seconds, Xiaomi‘s Tmall flagship store had recieved more than 100 million orders. Among the Top 10 selling mobile phones on Tmall, four were Xiaomi products. If you consider all product categories, Xiaomi dominated a record-breaking 40.

When CCTV Financial Channel analyzed Single’s Day sales, it found that Xiaomi was the first choice for Chinese business elites and office workers. It was favored for its build quality, design and user experience.

Behind this data is the efforts of tens of thousands of Xiaomi employees on Single’s Day.

The company’s headquarters, located outside Beijing’s Fifth Ring Road, is the home of its e-commerce channel and its command center for this year’s Single’s Day. The company prepared all kinds of snacks to celebrate the opening moment.

At midnight, busy Xiaomi staff huddled together to stare at the soaring sales figures on a TV. Only 3 minutes and 57 seconds later, they cheered as the Xiaomi Tmall flagship store reached 100 million yuan in sales.

Before the Single’s Day, Lin Bin, the company president, went to Xiaomi‘s warehouse in Daxing District, Beijing. He personally worked on sorting and packaging products, and selected 20 RedMi 4A handsets to cheer up the logistics staff.

“Sales have doubled this year, and the logistics pressure is high. We are confident that goods will be delivered from the warehouse within three days after receiving the order,” he said.

On the night of November 11th, when the end of the sales event began to approach, staff met for a second feast.

Everyone ate with a smile – not only because of the food, but also of Xiaomi‘s remarkable performance on Single’s Day.

Behind the retail miracle, Xiaomi has long been committed to technological innovation and new retail strategies.

Xiaomi implemented a range of core technology innovations this year, including its own chips. Xiaomi has licensed 4,806 patents, half of which are international patents. This dedication to innovation has driven the company’s constant improvement. The MI 6, full screen 2.0 MIX 2, photo flagship MI Note 3 and other leading products have been released successively.

At the same time, Xiaomi‘s presence in the new retail space also spread. The MI Home concept is also expanding abroad. MI Home opened its flagship store in Shenzhen on November 5, marking the evolution of MI from an e-commerce platform to a retail platform. On Single’s Day, retail sales of MI Home exceed 114 million yuan, more than three times that of the same period last year. It was another solid step toward retail for Xiaomi.

The company’s mission is to insist on offering the best performance for its price; being the coolest in the eyes of fans; bringing excellent products to everyone; and letting everyone experience the fun of technology.

In general, Xiaomi has succeeded.

While celebrating its sales, Xiaomi also told its fans on Weibo that Xiaomi would normalize prices across platforms to eliminate any gaps during Single’s Day, and fans can be assured they are getting their devices at the best price.

Xiaomi, which is increasingly refining its products and services, is showing a stronger sense of determination. In a letter to all staff, Lei said glory should be left in the past, and Xiaomi staff need to remain sober and humble. The company remains committed to making friends with its users and supplying high quality and high performance that can touch users, he said.

For Xiaomi, a new chapter is just beginning.

This article originally appeared in Tencent Technology and was translated by Pandaily.