Xiaomi Japan will launch bricks-and-mortar stores to promote Internet of Things (IoT) features, according to Kyodo News.

In a recent interview, Akira Onuma, president of Xiaomi Japan, said that building its own sales network "is the key to the Japanese market".

The Japanese branch of Xiaomi plans to launch bricks-and-mortar stores, intended to promote connectivity via smartphones directly to consumers.

Onuma said, aimed at accelerating the speed of sales of bricks-and-mortar stores will refer to mainland China and Hong Kong's Mi Home" stores.

Data from research firm IDC show that Xiaomi shipped about 490,000 cell phones in Japan in the second quarter of this year, about 5.6 times the same period last year, after Apple, Sharp and Google, ranked fourth, with market share rising from 1% to 7%.