Xiaomi, a Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer, is shifting its focus to boost sales through retail stores in India, according to the company’s Indian president Muralikrishnan B. The move aims to revive Xiaomi’s smartphone sales and catch up with competitor Samsung. Although 44% of India’s smartphones are sold online, the offline segment remains the bigger part of the market with 600 million mobile phone users. “Our market position offline is substantially lower,” Muralikrishnan B said. “Offline is where you have other competitors who have been executing fairly well and have a larger market share,” he added. Only 34% of Xiaomi’s sales in India this year came from retail outlets, whereas Samsung derives 57% of its sales from physical stores, according to Reuters, citing data from Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research. To strengthen its offline presence, Xiaomi plans to hire more store promoters who will engage with prospective buyers and pitch Xiaomi products, aiming to triple the number to 12,000 by the end of next year. [Reuters]