Research on how companies can sustainably grow in crowded markets——Taking Xiaomi and BiliBili as examples

Abstract

In an increasingly competitive global market, where industries from consumer electronics to digital content face saturation and margin pressures, companies are compelled to adopt innovative strategies to increase market share and profitability.

These measures—both profitability and market share—are important predictors of corporate competitiveness, which is reflected not only in strategic foresight of resource allocation but also in operational efficiency. Through strategic leverage and integrated market financial governance, Xiaomi and Bilibili—two industry disruptors in hardware manufacturing and digital content, respectively—have grown exponentially and provided replicable frameworks for enterprises operating in complicated ecosystems, according to this paper. Xiaomi's dominance in the EV sector is an example of ecosystem-driven diversification. Xiaomi took advantage of the current IoT user base (more than 700 million connected devices) by the SU7 sedan that was launched in 2024, which reduced the cost of customer acquisition by 40% in comparison to that of conventional automakers. Concurrently, its asset–light manufacturing model—partnering with the BAIC Group for production while retaining R&D control—lowered capital expenditure by 60%, boosting its operating margin to 18.7% in Q3 2024. Conversely, BiliBili demonstrates community-powered monetization. Transitioning from a niche anime platform to a PUGC (professional user-generated content) hub, the number of monthly active users (MAUs) increased from 150 million in 2020 to 368 million in 2024. By implementing a “dual-engine” revenue model—advertising (45% of 2023 revenue) + premium subscriptions (30%)—it achieved 22% year-on-year profit growth while maintaining a 78% user retention rate through gamified loyalty programs (e.g., “Coin System” for content rewards).