Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is restructuring its business to focus on the Chinese market, according to an internal letter obtained by Chinese media.
The new China-focused business group has been established in light of the company’s success overseas, a market that generated more than 40% of its revenue in the third quarter. The group is born out of the former Sales and Services Group and is to be led by Wang Chuan, co-founder and senior vice president of Xiaomi. He will report to company CEO Lei Jun.
Two new departments have also been created as a result of the restructuring, one for the offline sale of mobile phones in China and the other for promoting TVs and IoT devices in its digital ecosystem.
The company confirmed news of the restructuring to TechNode, though it refused to provide specific details.
Xiaomi has stressed its determination to focus on the Chinese market. According to Wang Yanhui, head of industry association Mobile China Alliance, the company has been repositioning itself as a premier brand in the Chinese market, as other smartphone players, including Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo, have been trying to grab the attention of higher-end smartphone users with increasing success.
Xiaomi recently launched its Mi 8 smartphone, priced at RMB 2,500 (around $360) for the base model. The company sold more than 6 million units of the flagship device before Oct. 6.
Xiaomi’s product lines are generally more cost efficient than its rivals’. This has led to its success in developing markets like India, where it commanded 30% of the market in the second quarter of this year, according to market research firm Canalys. Last month, the Chinese smartphone maker revealed its plan to increase the number of Xiaomi stores in the country from 500 to 5,000 by the end of 2019.