Beijing

XIAOMI Corp pioneered an online flash-sales model that lifted it to dizzying heights and made it Asia's most valuable startup, but it's since fallen on hard times. Now it's counting on old-fashioned retail to make a comeback, and that's proving a much stiffer challenge.

The smartphone maker is going through a major transformation after missed targets prompted a bout of soul-searching by billionaire co-founder Lei Jun. From Harbin in the chilly north-east to glitzy eastern Shanghai, it aims to build 1,000 "Mi Homes" by 2019 - about twice Apple Inc's global store count - that will rake in an envisioned 70 billion yuan (S$13.8 billion) in sales by 2021.