And we have absolutely no problems with that

Everyone knows that CD-R King is THE place to go when you need to buy something gadget-related, for cheap. The brand, which started out as a cheap place to buy blank CDs back in the day (thus the name) sells a literal crap ton of gadgets and other doodads that you can think of for rock bottom prices. Granted some of the stuff they sell don’t really last long, but like anything in life, you get what you pay for.

Surprisingly another brand is fast becoming a legit challenger to this home-brewed icon. Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi may be well-known for selling smartphones, but take a stroll at any of their Mi Authorized Stores in the metro (which has rapidly expanded) and you’ll see how the brand is fast becoming the next legit challenger to CD-R King.

This whole “offer other things aside from smartphones approach” is a strategy that the company adopted after painful lessons back in 2016. Their over-reliance in e-Commerce channels forced them to quit other territories three years ago to slow the bleeding, and made them realize that brick and mortar stores still rule in large parts of the world.

In fact, the company’s current strategy is to keep opening Mi Stores (or Mi Authorized stores) that constantly release interesting gadgets and accessories that aren’t necessarily directly related to their smartphones. Xiaomi constantly sells things like shoes, luggage trolleys, rice cookers, and towels to keep people’s curiosity up which drives foot traffic to stores.

While Xiaomi has its own manufacturing facilities, the company relies on third-party companies that they invest in to churn out all of these knick-knacks. According to Donovan Sung, Director of Product Management & Marketing of Xiaomi, the company partnered with around 90 to 100 companies last year, producing anything from simple power banks to mobility scooters.