In 2023, the entire Chinese capital market was in a state of mourning, with Tencent Holdings, a star-studded company, experiencing a slight annual decline of 6.34%. Due to factors such as geopolitical tensions, a sense of despair pervaded investors with the slightest change in sentiment.
However, resilient Xiaomi stood out as a counterexample to such excuses. Riding on the overwhelming acclaim for its premium product, the Xiaomi 14 series, Xiaomi surpassed Apple in domestic sales in China in December of the previous year, claiming the top spot in the Chinese smartphone market. Simultaneously, the company demonstrated unstoppable momentum in overseas markets such as the Middle East and Latin America. Against the market trend, Xiaomi's smartphone sales for the entire year of 2023 grew against the odds, significantly boosting profit margins. This robust performance continuously strengthened the company's stock price, resulting in a remarkable 42.60% increase in 2023.
Fast forward about 20 years. In April 2015, Xiaomi held a product launch event in India, introducing the new Xiaomi 4i tailored for the Indian market and the improved Mi Band for the Indian audience. During the event, Xiaomi's Chairman Lei Jun made a unique presentation in English. Lei Jun took the stage and greeted Indian Mi fans with the most familiar English greeting for Chinese people ("How are you"). He then surprised the audience by announcing free Xiaomi bands and colorful wristbands for the attending Indian fans, repeatedly asking if they were satisfied with the gifts, saying, "Are you OK?" The phrase "Are you OK?" made Lei Jun the focal point of discussion. A Bilibili user re-edited the event video, creating an English single titled "Are you OK" and uploaded it to Bilibili. The catchy melody led other users to share the video widely, and the humorous English song became an internet sensation. Fans expressed that Lei Jun's first hilarious English single had an addictive melody, charming vocals, and was completely irresistible—a worthy candidate for the best brainwashing song of the year. As of now, this video has surpassed 30 million views with over 170,000 comments.
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