Xiaomi has been dominating the Indian smartphone market since the past few quarters and the primary reason for this is the value-for-money budget offerings under its Redmi brand in India. However, the company also tapped the upper mid-range and premium market with the Poco brand.
The company had launched the Poco F1 smartphone in India last year, which can be termed as an “affordable flagship”. It offered top-of-the-line specifications at a very aggressive price point.
But now, the company is catering to the upper mid-range segment under its Redmi brand with the launch of Redmi K20 and premium customers have the Redmi K20 Pro. When the phones were first announced, it created confusion as the phones overlapped the targeted market of the Poco brand.
If the reports are indeed true, then what we all thought could be soon become a reality. Xiaomi could discontinue its Poco brand. With Redmi entering its segment and the top executive of the brand, Jai Mani, leaving the company, there’s nothing much left for Poco to do.
When the Economic Times asked Manu Jain, Xiaomi India Head and Global VP, he was non-committal on Poco’s future and said “we will not be able to answer it (question) right now. Whether the products are coming in brands or series… of course, we are working on something but what are those products and when will they come, we will not be able to share those details.”
In response to the question about Poco’s future, a spokesperson for Xiaomi said, “For Poco, nothing changes because of an executive leaving and work will go on as planned.” However, analysts believe that in the new scheme of things with Redmi and Mi brands having a dominating position in the market, it makes sense for the company to ditch the Poco brand.
