Xiaomi says over 15 million counterfeit Mi Power Banks were sold last year

Chinese startup giant Xiaomi says counterfeiters and taking a major chunk out of their revenue, especially for one specific accessory: The Mi Power Bank battery pack.

CEO Lei Jun says the battery pack hit 14.6 million units sold last year but that an additional 15 million counterfeit devices were sold as well, taking nearly $115 million of potential revenue for the company.

"What is the biggest problem? There are many fakes," Lei said. "If there were no counterfeits, our sales would be double or triple. The product has been recognized by everyone."

Xiaomi shipped 61.1 million smartphones last year, quickly becoming the third biggest smartphone maker in the world behind Samsung and Apple and that figure is expected to jump over 30 percent this year.

The Mi Power Bank, which comes in multiple varieties depending on how much "juice" you need, retails from $8 to $21.

Source:
BBG

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Apr 2015 23:03

SomeBozo

What? A chinese company complaining about counterfeiting? Seems really hypocritical. Seriously they are now reaping what they sowed? Not that it's right but now they get what they've done for years.

14.4.2015 01:39 #1

DarthMopar

^Beat me to it. The irony is strong with this story.

14.4.2015 10:17 #2

hearme0

How does this company know that 15 million counterfeit devices were sold hmmmm???

I don't think they can know that number and BECAUSE of the irony here......F' em!!!!!!!!!

14.4.2015 18:19 #3

SomeBozo

Originally posted by hearme0: How does this company know that 15 million counterfeit devices were sold hmmmm???

I don't think they can know that number and BECAUSE of the irony here......F' em!!!!!!!!! I'm thinking they can easily look at sales numbers for the number of phones they sold and chargers for said phones.

I'm not sure, really haven't looked that closely, while they might be selling their charger 5x what a 3rd party knock off might, then i might think it isn't piracy, but just good old capitalism at work. Just wondering if the company was trying to be too greedy got bit and they lost the revenue simply because of their own greed. Or another alternative, the sold the phone cheaper then they should have thinking they would recoup the cost on charges... Just look at laser printers and toner cartridges for that racket, sure we've all seen that trick before...

14.4.2015 22:05 #4

DVDBack23

Originally posted by SomeBozo: Originally posted by hearme0: How does this company know that 15 million counterfeit devices were sold hmmmm???

I don't think they can know that number and BECAUSE of the irony here......F' em!!!!!!!!! I'm thinking they can easily look at sales numbers for the number of phones they sold and chargers for said phones.

I'm not sure, really haven't looked that closely, while they might be selling their charger 5x what a 3rd party knock off might, then i might think it isn't piracy, but just good old capitalism at work. Just wondering if the company was trying to be too greedy got bit and they lost the revenue simply because of their own greed. Or another alternative, the sold the phone cheaper then they should have thinking they would recoup the cost on charges... Just look at laser printers and toner cartridges for that racket, sure we've all seen that trick before...
Guys, they sell these power bricks for $10 on average. Xiaomi has margins in the 8% range and offer all their hardware super cheap.

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16.4.2015 22:27 #5

Dr_Shifty

Although there is irony of a Chinese company complaining about counterfeit, check out how some of the cheap ones are exploding and setting fire to stuff. There is not only the lost revenue but also the loss of reputation from the poor quality copies.

24.4.2015 05:58 #6

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