Xiaomi today announced that it is beefing up its offline presence in India by partnering with distributors Just Buy Live and Innocomm. This partnership will allow Xiaomi to expand its offline reach to more than 5,000 stores. 

There will not be any other intermediary distributors, with Just Buy Live and Innocomm being the sole distributors for the devices.

Since it first entered the Indian smartphone market a few years ago, Xiaomi has sold its smartphones exclusively through online channels in the country. However, other Chinese companies like Oppo and Vivo have greatly expanded their reach in tier 2 cities in the country during the last year or so that has allowed them to surpass Xiaomi in terms of overall sales.

Below is what Xiaomi’s India head Manu Kumar Jain had to say on this move from the company:

We are primarily an e-commerce company and we have brought our learning from the online model to our offline model. We have chosen Just Buy Live and Innocomm because of their unique models that distribute directly to retailers.

I believe that this strategic alliance will strengthen Mi India’s presence across India. As we expand to more than 5000 offline outlets, it allows more people to experience our products and purchase them easily.

By expanding its presence offline, Xiaomi will be able to cater to wider range of audience. The company will be selling its phones like the Redmi 2, Redmi 2 Prime, Redmi Note Prime, Redmi Note 3, and the Mi 5 in chain stores like Sangeetha Mobiles, Big C, Lot Mobiles, and others.