A visit to Xiaomi’s offline store at Funan Mall in Singapore took place on March 28. Similar to Yongsan I-Park Mall in South Korea, Funan Mall specializes in IT products and is home to Xiaomi’s first company-owned store in Singapore.
Xiaomi recently announced plans to establish a Korean subsidiary and open its first direct store, the Mi Store, in South Korea during the first half of this year. Johnny Wu, CEO of Xiaomi Korea, stated in January that they aim to provide a comprehensive experience for Xiaomi products, including sales and after-sales service, through their offline stores in Korea. The Funan Mall store exemplifies this vision.
Upon entering, it has the central display featuring smartphones. The Xiaomi 15 series, including the newly launched Xiaomi 15 Ultra, stood out. Nearby, there is also a photography kit designed for the Xiaomi 15 Ultra.
The store’s product lineup extended far beyond smartphones. It showcased the Xiaomi 14T, Xiaomi Mix Flip, and Redmi Note 14, along with tablets from the Xiaomi Pad 7 series. The wearables section featured smartwatches such as the Xiaomi Watch S24, Redmi Watch, and Xiaomi Watch 2, alongside the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 series. In the audio section, the Xiaomi Buds 5 series of wireless earbuds were on display.
The store’s selection was impressively diverse. The left side housed accessories and smart devices, including routers, CCTV cameras, power banks, hair dryers, massagers, cordless drills, wireless mice, camping lanterns, diffusers, and Bluetooth speakers.
On the right, a Smart TV section displayed 65 and 75-inch models, while the Smart Home area featured air fryers, blenders, rice cookers, humidifiers, robotic vacuums, air purifiers, and automatic pet feeders. The Smart Life section included electric kettles, lamps, fans, and scales.
Despite its modest size, the store offered an extensive range of products, living up to the saying “It has everything you could ask for.” The upcoming stores in South Korea are expected to be similar in size or slightly smaller.
This hands-on experience is a major advantage over the previous online-only purchasing options in Korea, where customers relied solely on product images and specifications. Many customers were testing products and making immediate purchases.
A standout feature was the after-sales service counter next to the checkout area. A Xiaomi representative explained that they have an on-site engineer capable of repairing most smartphones immediately, while larger appliances typically require in-home service.
This service model is set to launch in South Korea and may help improve Xiaomi’s after-sales support, which has been seen as one of its biggest weaknesses. The store also included a seating area where staff assisted customers with data transfers during phone upgrades and provided product consultations.
While the concept wasn’t entirely new, having visited a Xiaomi store in Shanghai before the pandemic, the prospect of similar Mi Stores opening soon in South Korea is intriguing. Known for stylish and affordable products beyond just smartphones and TVs, Xiaomi’s Mi Store could become a go-to destination, much like Daiso in the electronics and IT sector. Although price ranges vary, Xiaomi’s products remain generally accessible, it attracts curious shoppers and they turn into buyers. This result may lead to overall brand trust.
