Xiaomi’s US store is open, and it sells nothing made by Xiaomi

Xiaomi’s online store for the US and European markets has finally gone live, and as promised, the company is putting up four accessories up for grabs via flash sales.

Americans who get to their keyboards at 7PM Pacific time can purchase the Mi Band for US$14.99, the 500mAh Mi Power Bank for US$9.99, the 10400mAh Mi Power Bank for US$13.99, and the Mi Headphones for US$79.099. These listed prices are about same as all of Xiaomi’s other markets. The company hasn’t revealed the available quantities for each item.

According to the store’s website, the company will work with FedEx, DHL, and UPS to deliver orders. Products are shipping from warehouses in China, and Xiaomi states that it will handle payments for customs via an included fee that pops up at check out.

Hugo Barra has said that the US is not a priority market for Xiaomi, so it comes as no surprise that its tablets and smartphones are MIA. Market saturation, patent issues, and the prevalence of telco subsidies will likely be hurdles that slow their arrival.

If phones are out of the question, what’s left for Xiaomi to sell? The company  an expanding portfolio of hardware products made by third party companies, many of which it has invested in. Some of these companies keep their own branding, while others smack a Xiaomi logo on their devices before shipping. Battery packs and activity trackers have the more mass appeal compared to Xiaomi’s other hardware portfolio products, like its smart air filter or smart light bulb.

To this end, Xiaomi’s quiet American coming out party is more important for China than it is for the US.  Huami, Zmi, and 1more – makers of the bands, the batteries, and the headphones – would be left to fend for themselves if they ever hoped to crack the states. That might normally entail calling up Best Buy (not in China), or making a Shopify website (Weidian for WeChat is the hot thing in China), or listing on Amazon right next to thousands of other cheap headphones. Xiaomi’s deep pockets, logistics scale, and brand power have helped these startups reach consumers that would otherwise have been oceans away.