Buying your favourite smartphones at bargain prices ranks high on your wish list. But ending up with a fake product is probably the biggest scare of all. Mi India has recently seized a massive consignment of Counterfeit Mi products worth a whopping Rs. 33.3 lakhs in Bangalore and Chennai.
How Did the Operation Go Down?
Being one of the major players in the smartphone segment and hot seller in the TV segment, nothing could hurt Mi’s brand image than the circulation of counterfeit devices across the Indian markets. Mi India’s comprehensive, proactive anti-counterfeit program instated to deal with such problems wrapped up the operation after a police complaint was lodged at a local police station followed by raids conducted in October and November.
Four suppliers in Chennai and three in Bangalore under Mi India’s radar had been raided by Police Officers accompanied by Mi India official representative after the complaint was registered. Three prominent shops exposed a total of 3000 products consisting of mobile cases, headphones, power banks, chargers, and earphones, were extracted. The shop owners from Chennai & Bangalore were arrested after Mi products worth Rs. 24.9 lakhs and Rs. 8.4 lakhs, respectively, were recovered. Upon further investigation and interrogation, the shop owners revealed a well-established web of an offender who has been involved in unfair trading practices and has sold multiple unauthorized products in the market.
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How to Identify counterfeit products of Xiaomi:
- Some products like carrying security codes that can be checked on mi.com to identify the authenticity of the product
Example: Mi Powerbanks, all audio products - Packaging and quality of retail boxes are very different. You can visit any Mi Home/ Mi Store to validate the original packaging.
- Check for the original Mi India Logo on the product, and you will know if that is authorized. The original logo of packaging can be seen on Mi.com.
- All authorized fitness products such as Mi Band(s) will have Mi Fit app compatibility.
- Unauthorized cables are often flimsy and break easily.
Fake products are often hazardous at multiple levels. Privacy and security are compromised alongside health risks involved with poorly designed make-shift products. The user experience is nowhere close to desirable and defames any brand. Mi India’s enthusiasm comes at a time when crime in such areas are high and need cleansing, especially in a sensitive market like India, which reacts to every little industry nuances.
