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Before the start of online batch sales, many Malaysian buyers eagerly logged onto the website of Xiaomi Corp, Chinese largest smartphone maker, only to leave empty-handed minutes later.

The company made a foray into the Malaysian market in May and has since reported brisk sales.

It does away with brick-and-mortar retail outlets, selling all its smartphones and related accessories on its website.

It constantly announces batch sales’ details on Facebook, such as how many units are available, the date and time it opens the sale, hence created a fad among Internet-savvy consumers in clamouring for its products.

“Xiaomi has a very good marketing strategy and it has successfully built up its hype here,” said IDC Malaysia’s senior research manager, Daniel Pang. 

Xiaomi’s collective sales in the country so far still lag behind those of established players, such as China’s Lenovo, Oppo and Taiwan’s Asus despite having its phones snapped up quickly, he said.

“Some potential buyers like those in the corporates, prefer to have a ‘feel and touch’ on the devices before committing to any purchase.

“Xiaomi is innovative in online marketing, but the traditional offline sale is still important,” Pang said.

Sathya, 30, is among the early birds to get a unit of Xiaomi’s flagship smartphone, Mi3.

“Even if it lasts me a year, I will be thrilled because it’s cheap,” said the lawyer, who bought the phone at RM769 on its website.

The Android-powered Mi3 has a 13-megapixel camera, five-inch screen and a 2.3GHz processor.

This versus Apple’s iPhone 5s with an eight-megapixel camera, a four-inch screen, a 1.3GHz chip and a price tag of RM2,399. 

Beijing-based Xiaomi, a four-year-old company founded by Lei Jun, has become an instant hit in China with its high-end specifications but lower-priced Android-powered smartphones.

It started to expand overseas since last year, and now has a foothold in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia and India.

The company overtook South Korea’s Samsung Electronics in China for the first time as the largest smartphone maker, having shipped a total of 15 million units in the second quarter this year, versus Samsung’s 13.2 million, according to market research firm, Canalys. — Bernama