An Open Letter From Xiaomi CEO, Lei Jun!
Dear Xiaomi colleagues, on the first working day of 2020, I would like to extend my New Year greetings to you all.
2019 has come to an end. For Xiaomi, it was a year of both prudence and drive. As our industry entered a critical transition from 4G to 5G, we focused on healthy operations to drive our capabilities in building better quality products, innovation and delivering new products in the future.
We also made a series of strategic changes in branding, product portfolio and organization structure which have laid a solid foundation for the company’s long term development.
Our smartphone business officially launched a dual brand strategy. The smartphone brand separation of Redmi from Xiaomi and their independent operations brought us great success. We continue to be ranked fourth globally in regards of smartphone shipment and our prudence has helped us achieve a healthy inventory level. This differentiates us from the industry and enables us to enter the 5G era without undue burden.
2019 was a significant year for our global expansion, our overseas revenue now accounts for almost half of our total group revenue. Xiaomi is now truly a global technology leader. Our internet business also became more diversified and our AIoT business retained its global leadership. Xiaomi is now widely known as a “true AIoT leader” in the industry.
In 2019, Xiaomi made the Fortune Global 500 list for the first time, becoming the youngest Fortune Global 500 company. What is more important is that we laid the foundation of a strong organization management. We have taken steps to streamline the organization structure, and our senior management rotation is in full swing. We promoted many young and capable leaders, refined our talent grading and selection mechanisms and began training programs at Qinghe University. A deep talent pool will go a long way in contributing to Xiaomi’s long term growth.
On this occasion, I want to express my utmost appreciation to each and every Xiaomi colleague. Thank you for your courage, resilience, and dedication. You have all worked very hard. I am also thankful to all your family members and loved ones, a sincere thank you for their understanding and support.
2020 will be a year of breakthroughs for our 5G business and a critical year for us to further push forward our “smartphone+AIoT” strategy.
It is clear to us the strategic importance of “5G+AI+IoT and next generation super internet”. 5G is not solely about a faster smartphone network. “5G+AIoT” represents Xiaomi’s ability to offer services across our comprehensive product line. It gives us the chance to offer unique and pioneering AIoT use cases.
“5G+AI+IoT and next generation super internet” perfectly fits Xiaomi’s Internet DNA. We can bring truly smart and innovative technology and enable everyone to enjoy a better life through this. At the beginning of 2019, we talked about going “All in AIoT”, and planned an investment of RMB 10 billion (~USD 1.43 billion) in this field over the next five years. After a year of verification, we are increasing our investment in this. We now believe we will invest at least RMB 50 billion (~USD 7.18 billion) over the five years in “5G+AIoT” to double down on our lead in the field. This is to ensure we win in this new smart era.
Today is the first working day of 2020. 2020 also marks the 10th year of Xiaomi’s entrepreneurial journey.
The New Year’s first working day brings us two pieces of good news. The first is that our Mi TV team has celebrated Mi TV’s No.1 ranking in China shipments (and top five globally). We accomplished an unprecedented record, becoming the first smart TV brand to ship more than 10 million units annually in China ever.
The second is that Mr. Chang Cheng has just joined our big family. Mr. Chang, with extensive experience in the field of consumer electronics, will serve as Vice President of Xiaomi Group and will be responsible for Xiaomi smartphone products. We welcome and embrace all outstanding talents who truly believe in our values. We will continue to attract more top talents from around the world.
In addition, I kindly urge all Xiaomi colleagues to remember the following five guiding principles. That we must make friends with our users, continue to bring the best price to performance hardware to them, prioritize technological innovation, work hard to deliver the best quality products, and embrace our entrepreneurial spirit.
We will celebrate the 10th birthday of Xiaomi this April with all Xiaomi colleagues, all our friends who have helped us along the way, and our Mi Fans who have always supported us. We must remain true to our roots and remember how we managed to come so far. Xiaomi is still a young company. We are here today because of our dreams, and we will have a bright future because we continue to dream.
I am looking forward to Xiaomi’s next 10 years.
Lei Jun
Founder, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi
January 2, 2020
Beijing.
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