Xiaomi Redmi sells out in 8 minutes

SINGAPORE — The first batch of Redmi stock in Singapore was sold out today (Feb 21) in just eight minutes, said Chinese phone company Xiaomi.

“Dear Mi fans, we’re sold out for #Redmi - in just 8 minutes!” said the company in a statement. “As this is the first time we’re selling in Singapore, we wanted to learn more about the market behaviour, sales reaction, and optimise our business processes (e-commerce, logistics, customer support).”

Xiaomi refused to reveal how many phones it sold during the eight minutes.

The company said it is “working hard to bring in more products” and those who have successfully placed an order would be getting their smartphone soon.

The online-only sale of the hotly-awaited budget phone began at noon today, and soon after the sale started, people took to Xiaomi Singapore’s Facebook page to complain about “Creation Errors” and other problems during their attempt to purchase the phone.

Those who managed to place an order for the smartphone also faced problems, with some having issues confirming their payment via PayPal.

Xiaomi said it would announce its next sale date tomorrow on the Xiaomi Singapore Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Xiaomi-Singapore/535405486500557).

Telcos SingTel and StarHub have officially announced that they will start selling the Redmi from Feb 27. M1 is also expected to do so.