Months before he dropped to the floor in agony while grocery shopping with his young son, Wang Peizhi stayed up all night frantically preparing Xiaomi¡¯s flagship store for the launch of its first electric vehicle.
Wang¡¯s work had piled up after the company, led by billionaire co-founder Lei Jun, unveiled a bold plan to become the first tech firm to successfully shift into carmaking. Lei, 55, staked his reputation on the transition, a feat even Apple failed to achieve, vowing it was his ¡°last entrepreneurial project.¡±
A key part of executing that vision was Xiaomi¡¯s retail network ¡ª Wang¡¯s responsibility. To compete with the likes of BYD and Tesla in China¡¯s burgeoning EV market, the company had decided to overhaul its chain of retail outlets by converting stores designed for smartphones into showrooms to feature full-sized sedans and SUVs. But during the COVID pandemic, Xiaomi fired around half the staff responsible for the effort, leaving about 10 people, according to a former employee and a current staff member, both of whom worked with Wang and asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive issues.
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