NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, MAR 30
Mi India, country’s No.1 Smartphone and Smart TV player, pledged Rs 100 crore to foster retail entrepreneursho under its new initiative – Grow With Mi (GWM). With this initiative, the company is planning to double the number of offline retail touch points as well as number of exclusive retail stores in India, say top officials of the company.
- Today Mi India has over 15,000 retail touch points, out of which 3000+ are Mi Stores that are exclusive retail stores for our Mi and Redmi products. These are spread across all states, districts and towns in India. As per the Channel Play report, this is the largest exclusive retail network in the country for physical goods.
- Mi India will double the total number of touchpoints to over 30,000 in the next one year. This is in-line with the company’s mission to democratize access to technology for everyone
- Mi India will also double the number of exclusive Mi Stores from 3000+ to 6000+ over the next two years.
- A support package of Rs 100 crore has been planned to help the retail partners set up and run these stores over the next two years.
- GWM aims to foster retail entrepreneurship in the country especially in rural markets and will create employment opportunities for over 10,000 Indians.
Under the GWM initiative, Mi India will also introduce Mi Retail Academy wherein entrepreneurs from different backgrounds will be nurtured and trained starting from product training to sales training, customer management to polishing other soft skills such as marketing, in-store designing, customer service, retail excellence, etc.thus empowering them with technical knowledge and enhancing their business acumen.
Commenting on the initiative, Manu Jain, MD at Mi India said, “We are extremely delighted to announce the Grow With Mi today. It is a comprehensive retail exercise that will not only foster entrepreneurship but will co-lead an evolution that democratizes access to tech for Mi Fans and consumers across the country. With this new initiative, we are determined to expand our presence and reach out to our customers in the convenience of their hometowns. We are confident that the new initiative will significantly contribute to our offline retail presence and also will help prospective entrepreneurs from small towns and villages to embark on their journey of success.”
Speaking on the initiative, Muralikrishnan B, COO, Mi India, “Mi India started as an online first brand, and today we have the largest exclusive brand retail network in India. We commenced our offline journey in 2016 and have so far managed to create 15,000+ retail touchpoints that include 75+ Mi Homes and 3000+ Mi Stores, thereby bringing world class retail experience to various towns and cities in India. We are determined to scale bigger heights together with our Partners and Mi Fans growing our presence to over 30000 retail touchpoints by next year. With our new initiative – Grow with Mi, we will further expand our retail presence by doubling the number of Mi stores over the next 2 years. We also intend to extend the Mi Store on Wheels format to cover other far corners in the country and bring the best in class Mi Store showroom experience in areas that have limited access.”