In an open letter to staff, Xiaomi’s Lei Jun reveals the company sold over 61 million smartphones in 2014

Early this morning Xiaomi founder and CEO posted an open letter to the company’s employees on his personal Weibo account, in which he reflects on Xiaomi’s performance in 2014 and looks towards the future.

In the letter, Lei reveals that the company sold 61.12 million smartphones last year, nailing its target right on the bullseye. Tax-inclusive revenues according to the founder hit RMB 74.3 (almost US$12 billion), marking a 135 percent increase from the previous year, when it claimed to have brought in RMB 31.6 billion (US$5.18 billion).

He also notes that the company has invested in over 20 hardware companies that have helped Xiaomi build out its “holistic ecosystem,” which he believes will be the company’s competitive advantage as China’s smartphone market grows more saturated.

Below is Xiaomi’s official translation of the letter.

Aim to go places that others haven’t dared dream of

I’d like to share a piece of good news: in the past year, we have achieved results that we are extremely proud of. In 2014, Xiaomi sold 61.12 million smartphones, an increase of 227% from the year before; and tax-inclusive sales was CNY74.3 billion, an increase of 135% from the year before. We have successfully become the first in China’s smartphone industry in terms of market share.

Xiaomi has achieved such stellar results because of the contributions of every single person in the company. Our excellent performance has also been recognised by investors — we just recently completed our latest round of funding, raising US$1.1 billion at valuation of US$45 billion. This has made Xiaomi the world’s most valuable private tech startup.

2014 is a year of important milestones for Xiaomi: From chasing other players in the industry, we are now being pursued by others. Nearing the end of last year, we even found ourselves facing a patent lawsuit, which can be considered a rite of passage for a company that is coming of age.

Currently, the level of research and imitation of Xiaomi’s model by industry peers is as detailed as studying pixels in a picture. In 2015, the smart devices playing field will become extremely competitive, especially as the growth of the smartphone industry in mainland China slows down. As industry players seek to outdo one another, the test of endurance and the robustness of each player’s overall ecosystem will determine which one eventually gets eliminated.

Therefore, starting this year, we need to reset our attitude and restart our journey. We should possess the determination to fight this battle to the end, and look towards a bright future for every single one of us at Xiaomi.

1) Go back to basics when it comes to product and service. We have to consistently focus on product innovation, emphasize on making friends with our users, and strive to produce high-quality, high-performance devices with great user experience. On 4th January, we are announcing Redmi 2, and on 15th January, we will be unveiling our next flagship device. There’s no better way to start 2015 than with our newest products.

2) Strategic planning for our ecosystem. Two years ago, we started laying out our plans for an ecosystem, and to date we have made significant progress, investing in more than 20 hardware companies making smart products, and even partnering with appliance giant Midea. We want to cooperate closely with every more partners to create a more holistic ecosystem, and bring a more complete, interesting and convenient smart technology user experience for all Xiaomi fans. We believe that this ecosystem we are building will be Xiaomi’s most important competitive advantage in our rapid growth ahead.

3) Harbour dreams of expanding across the world. We have stepped beyond mainland China to seven other countries and regions, and have achieved success in these places. In India, we sold over 1 million smartphones in five months. This year, we will enter even more overseas markets. The road to success is never smooth-sailing, and it is expected that we will face even more challenges in our globalization. However, we are determined to overcome all challenges to bring our products, proudly designed and made in China, everywhere, as we believe innovation is for everyone.