Xiaomi partners with Three to sell phones in the UK

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Xiaomi released their first smartphone back in 2011 and have since made a huge splash in markets all around the world. They were named China’s largest smartphone company back in 2014 and have continued to grow to become the 4th largest in the world as of last year. On the heels of their IPO announcement, it was been revealed that Xiaomi has partnered with Three to begin selling their smartphones in the United Kingdom in the near future.

Xiaomi has been careful when it comes to which markets they have expanded into. Unlike LeEco, who expanded too fast and too much, Xiaomi has been very methodical with their plans for expansion and have even chosen to create relationships with well-known carriers and retailers in the area before doing so. The company first began selling smartphones in Europe last year in November with devices being sold in Spain. Xiaomi has plans to continue this expansion in various markets throughout Europe and Three will be helping out.

It has been confirmed that Three will begin selling Xiaomi smartphones in the multiple markets they have a presence, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, and Sweden. Three UK’s chief digital officer, Tom Malleschitz, had very nice things to say about the company and says the company has been “impressed with the huge range of connected devices that they currently offer.” This move is likely only the first in the company’s plan to expand into the western market and their recently announced IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange will help to finance this expansion.

It’s said that Xiaomi is aiming to raise about $10 billion with this IPO, which would make it the largest offering since Chinese e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba’s $25 billion listing in New York in 2014. If they are able to hit this number then it could end up valuing the company at $100 billion when all things are said and done. This would be a major success for Xiaomi as it would make them the third largest Chinese tech firm by value behind Tencent and Alibaba.