POCO India head resigns, may join Nothing's CMF division soon
What's the story
Himanshu Tandon, the head of Xiaomi's sub-brand POCO in India, has resigned from his position, according to Moneycontrol. He is likely to join London-based smartphone company Nothing in August as the head of its CMF division. Tandon was a founding member of POCO and took charge of its operations in India in 2022. His departure comes as Xiaomi faces declining market share and smartphone shipments.
Market dynamics
A bright spot for Xiaomi
Despite Xiaomi's overall decline, POCO has been a bright spot in recent quarters. In Q2 2025, POCO contributed to 41% of Xiaomi's India shipments, up from 30% last year. The brand shipped over two million units in the quarter, an increase from 1.5 million units in Q1, according to Canalys data. This growth comes as Xiaomi shifts its strategy toward a premium value-driven approach to regain profitability in India.
Brand strategy
POCO's focus on Gen Z buyers drove its success
Sanyam Chaurasia, Principal Analyst at Canalys, said that while Redmi (Xiaomi's main smartphone series) has struggled to attract consumers in the retail channel due to a lack of tangible design enhancements, POCO has been driving growth for Xiaomi. He added that "POCO was already doing well online with Flipkart, and its retail expansion via Reliance has helped scale volumes further." This success is driven by a focus on Gen Z buyers through bold design and gaming-centric features.
Strategic shift
Nothing's aggressive push into India
Tandon's expected move to Nothing's CMF division fits with the company's aggressive push into India. Recently, Nothing shifted its global marketing operations to India, indicating long-term bets on the market. CMF targets the value-design segment with earbuds, phones, and accessories. Under Akis Evangelidis's leadership, co-founder and president of India operations at Nothing, the company has seen 229% YoY growth in Q2, driven by demand for products like CMF Phone 2 Pro and Nothing Phone 3a series.