Xiaomi eyes new growth engines

Part of wider push to find new markets amid fierce competition in its core phone business

Xiaomi Corp unveiled a smart vacuum cleaner on Wednesday, in another move to seek new growth engines as the Chinese smartphone vendor wrestles with tumbling phone shipments and mounting competition.

Priced at 1,699 yuan ($254), the smart vacuum cleaner is the latest evidence that Xiaomi is sticking to its affordability strategy for all of its consumer electronics products, although analysts said their rising incomes were making Chinese consumers increasingly less price-conscious.