Xiaomi has closed its first and only Mi Store in the United Kingdom but don’t panic, it is not related to the Coronavirus epidemic. The company decided to shut the doors of the store located in the Westfield shopping center in Sheperd’s Bush, London, on March 5, 2020.
Already, the Westfield London website has been updated with a disclaimer that the UK Mi Store is no longer open for trading. Further, the Twitter account for the store is now offline.
The UK Mi Store first opened shop in November 2018 and had in stock several Xiaomi products ranging from smartphones, smart bands, smart home gadgets, electric scooters, umbrellas etc. However, the store soon became notorious for not having most of the products in stock. Apart from that, the prices of the products in stock were markedly higher than what is obtainable online. Thus, the closure may be tied to low patronage and a desire to cut cost and focus on more vibrant markets in Europe
A spokesperson for the Chinese company did release a statement to Android Authority that the closure is an adjustment to its local retail strategy due to its fast growing business in Western Europe. The company also enjoined fans in the UK to purchase their favourite Xiaomi products through its official website mi.com/uk and other official channels that would be announced during future product launch events. Xiaomi’s products are also available via Amazon in the UK, US, Europe and India.
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