Xiaomi’s westward expansion begins next week

Xiaomi is taking baby steps with its westward expansion, and for good reason. Not only does the burgeoning Chinese company have little influence outside of China and a few other Asian markets, there are some obvious copyright issues with many of its products. That’s not stopping Xiaomi, however, as the company is launching a new “beta” store in a few key Western markets next week to test the waters. 

Starting May 19, Xiaomi is going to begin a slow expansion into some new areas with a beta version of their Mi Store. The company posted on Facebook earlier that they would be making a limited number of accessories available to customers to see how things go. Buyers in the US, UK, Germany, and France will be able to purchase power banks, headphones, along with their Mi Band fitness tracker, following just a few months after it first explained its intentions to do so. The company’s announcement post reads: “Salut Mi fans, nous avons des nouvelles très intéressant! For the 1st time ever, fans in US, UK, France and Germany can shop on mi.com (beta test) and purchase star accessories like the 5000mAh and 10400mAh Mi power banks, Mi Band and Mi Headphones! Very limited quantities will be available on 19 May, 1pm CEST. Sign up for a Mi Account (http://account.mi.com) now and log in early before the sale starts. Partager avec vos amis!”