Chinese handset maker Xiaomi is looking to acquire starts-ups in India, in a bid to tap into local talent for its store expansion plans. Most of the acquisitions have been in China, where it has investments in 55 companies. Most of these are hardware companies. While Xiaomi already has a partnership with Airtel, and distributors Redington and TMS to sell their products at offline stores as well, it is about to launch direct to retail sales models to cut down on middle men in the offline retail chain. Signage companies dealing in in-shop displays, designs and such activities must attentive of this store expansion for new projects on in-store branding, designs and such jobs.
