[Report] "Small but Meaningful" Xiaomi Opens Its First Store in Korea

Xiaomi Opens First 'Xiaomi Lite Store' in Yongsan, Seoul on the 29th of Last Month

The exterior view of Xiaomi's first official offline store in Korea, 'Xiaomi Light Store' No.1, which opened on the 5th floor of Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul on the 29th of last month.

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] “It’s small but seems neatly organized. The fact that you can touch the products, listen to explanations, and purchase them directly gives it a certain significance.”

On the afternoon of the 4th, customers visiting the first Xiaomi Lite Store located on the 5th floor of I'Park Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, generally found it interesting and fresh. Xiaomi products, from the wearable device ‘Mi Band’ to vacuum cleaners and air purifiers, are familiar enough that domestic consumers have likely used them at least once, but this was their first time encountering the products in an offline store.

The overall view of Xiaomi’s first domestic store, which opened on the 29th of last month, was tidy. The color scheme was unified mostly in white?from the display stands to the frames dividing the space and the exhibited products?giving a clean and uncluttered impression. The displayed items were also diverse, covering a wide range of household appliances including mobile products like smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches, as well as humidifiers, air fryers, scales, electric toothbrushes, and drivers.

The exterior view of Xiaomi's first official offline store in Korea, 'Xiaomi Light Store' No.1, which opened on the 5th floor of Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul on the 29th of last month.

Xiaomi currently operates over 10,000 offline stores in China and more than 4,000 outside China, but this is the first official store opened in Korea. Xiaomi explained, “We opened the offline store to provide consumers with a multi-channel way to learn about Xiaomi products,” and regarding the choice of Yongsan as the first location, they said, “It is the most symbolic place for exploring home appliances in Korea, and we judged it to be a location easily accessible to consumers.”

Customer A, who purchased a temperature and humidity monitor that day, said, “I use a Xiaomi humidifier at home, and many people around me use various Xiaomi products, so being able to see and buy them directly is definitely an advantage.” He added, “It was my first time seeing a Xiaomi smartphone today, so it was fascinating.”

The exterior view of Xiaomi's first official offline store in Korea, 'Xiaomi Lite Store' No.1, which opened on the 5th floor of Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul on the 29th of last month.

However, despite the neat image, the overall layout and form of the store did not match the symbolic status of being the first domestic store. The store was divided into three sections around four building pillars, giving more the impression of a pop-up store than a formal store. The orange Xiaomi logos appeared intermittently, indicating it was a Xiaomi store, but even those were not very eye-catching. Unlike surrounding stores that clearly defined their sections by using different floor materials to match their brand and store concept, Xiaomi’s store floor was indistinguishable from the department store floor, giving a strong impression of a temporary store.

Mr. B, who visited to purchase a lighting product that day, said, “I came thinking it was an official store, but it felt like a pop-up store, so I wondered if I was mistaken. The scale was much smaller than I expected, and the variety of products was not as diverse as I hoped, so I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t buy what I intended.”

The exterior view of Xiaomi's first official offline store in Korea, 'Xiaomi Light Store' No.1, which opened on the 5th floor of Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul on the 29th of last month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.