Xiaomi denies a purported price increase for some products in India

A few days ago, global vice president and head of Xiaomi India, Mani Kumar Jain, posted a tweet denying reports that Xiaomi will increase the prices of Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro, Redmi 6A and Mi Air Purifier 2S in India effective from December 29th.

Mr. Jain attached a picture of the fake memo which specifically says that the 2GB+16GB and 2GB+32GB versions of the Redmi 6A will be increased by Rs 600 ($9) and Rs 500 ($7) respectively. The 4GB+64GB and 6GB+64GB variants of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro will increase by Rs 500 ($7) and Rs 300 ($4) respectively while the Mi Air Purifier 2S will increase by Rs 500 ($7).

In response to this report, Manu Kumar-Jain said that this fake message is been floated on social media by the “distributors of a brand” and he urged Xiaomi’s followers not to believe the fake news as Xiaomi has not increased any prices. The Indian smartphone market is a very price sensitive market. The likes of Apple and Samsung whose pricing structure is on the high side are having a tough time in India since the entry of Xiaomi and some other cheaper Chinese brands.

Recently, the Indian government introduced a law which tightens its foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in the e-commerce sector. This law bans OEMs from having exclusive sales with online retailers like Amazon and Flipkart and also states that only 25% of a company’s inventory should be sold online. This directly threatens Xiaomi’s grip on the Indian market as its offline retail channel still needs some work.