Xiaomi has appointed former Three lead business development manager Jay Frankenberger as a sales director.
Frankenberger joins the vendor’s UK team after nearly two years at the mobile operator.
He has held a number of roles across various companies within the telco industry, including EE, Nokia, Huawei and ZTE.
In his new role, Frankenberger has been tasked with developing Xiaomi’s relationships with the UK’s mobile operators, plus helping to expand its profile in the country.
His appointment follows another high-profile name within the UK channel joining Xiaomi, after former Westcoast head of mobile Darren Seward came in last July.
Speaking to Mobile News about his new position, Frankenberger said that Xiaomi is aiming to hit the UK’s number-three spot by the end of the year.
“Our ambitions will be challenging, but as a young brand we’re aiming to continue our market growth,” he said.
“We know it’s a very tough market with two big players (Apple and Samsung), but my job is to remove some of the reliance on these two brands.
“We’re in a fight with a number of other vendors for share of the market and realistically by the end of the year we’re aiming to be in the top-three UK handset manufacturers.”
He adds that a key part of being successful is developing partnerships with the UK’s network operators. Last year, Xiaomi shipped 147.8 million smartphones worldwide and even overtook the stricken Huawei in the final quarter of last year.
This potential gap in the market created by its rival’s situation will provide Xiaomi with an opportunity to grow its share in European markets, but warns that this will take time in countries such as the UK.
“The UK is tough and you need to be different,” said Frankenberger. “Now there’s a few brands going for the gap that has been created by Huawei’s struggles. We need to have something different that stands out with our products.
“It’s going to be a gradual growth for us; we don’t expect to come in and take huge share in one go. It’s down to getting the brand awareness out there.
He added: “Xiaomi has a diverse ecosystem with a range of products including smart hardware, IoT and electricals such as scooters and this gives us an additional scale to grow our brand.”
