Xiaomi chooses Madrid for the global presentation of its new smartphone

The company plans to open ten new stores this year

The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has chosen Spain for the global launch of its new models, the smartphones MI A2 and MI A2 Lite, which run on Android software. The event at the Wizink Center in Madrid was attended by 800 people, and streamed live. According to the organizers, half of those attending were representatives of the international press.

 Xiaomi elige Madrid para la presentación mundial de su nuevo móvil

This is not the first time that the company has chosen Spain. As Invest In Spain announced last November, Spain has been the launch pad for Xiaomi's expansion into Western Europe. And it has kept its foot on the gas, judging by the rate at which it has opened new outlets: its growth in July has included stores in Madrid and extended to Granada and Zaragoza. It already has a store in Barcelona and will arrive in Valencia soon, with the plan being for ten new openings in all in 2018. In the rest of Europe, it already has stores in Milan and Paris.

On July 24, before the global presentation of its new models, a meeting was held in the VIP room of the Wizink Center, attended by representatives from Xiaomi and Invest in Spain, as well as the director general for international trade and investment, José Luis Káiser. At the meeting, the international business director of Xiaomi, Lancelot Liu, expressed his satisfaction with the good response to the stores in Spain.

Institutional support
Liu highlighted the choice of Madrid for the global launch of the new smartphone, also thanked the Spanish representatives for the support they have given the company through the ICEX commercial office in Beijing. He also had good words for the Spanish consulate in the Chinese capital, which had facilitated the consular procedures for the Xiaomi employees who have moved to Spain.

During the presentation following the meeting, the Vice-President of the company, Xiang Wang, reviewed the growth of Xiaomi from its creation in 2010 to 2017, when it achieved sales of USD 15 billion, with growth of 67.5% on the previous year. Currently, the Xiaomi smartphones are in fourth place on the ranking of best-selling smartphones in Europe, and third in Spain.

Donovan Sung, Director of Product Management and Marketing at Xiaomi, and Jon Gold, director of Google's Android Partner Programs, explained the technical characteristics of the new smartphones. The new phone will be available in 40 countries. In Spain, as well as the Xiaomi stores, it may be bought in the multi-brand stores and online platforms with which the company normally works.