Rahul Som

As the National Affordability Manager at Xiaomi India, I lead strategic initiatives to make Xiaomi products more financially accessible to Indian consumers through robust affordability and exchange programs. I drive pan-India partnerships, optimize financial structures, and implement operational excellence to support business growth, improve customer experience, and increase market penetration.

• Strategic Partnership Management
• Affordability Program Execution
• Financial and Cost Optimization
• Marketing & Campaign Integration
• Exchange & Refurbishment Program Management
• Reporting & Performance Analytics
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Team Leadership & Escalation Management

Internal & Channel Communication Core Competencies:

• Manage and expand relationships with POS partners (e.g., Pine Labs, Paytm, Benow, Innoviti, Ezetap) and leading NBFCs (e.g., Bajaj, TVS Credit, IDFC First, HDB, Home Credit, Kotak, ICICI).
• Design and negotiate affordability structures like No Cost EMI (NCEMI), Low Cost EMI (LCEMI), and cashbacks aligned with market needs and business goals.
• Develop partner-specific strategies to co-create innovative customer financing options.
• Drive operational excellence across affordability schemes including scheme deployment, invoice validation, and SOP adherence.
• Minimize escalations and backlogs through streamlined processes and accountability frameworks.
• Lead automation initiatives and CRM integrations to improve operational efficiency and tracking.
• Lead cost negotiations to reduce subvention, cashback, and transaction costs while maximizing ROI.
• Ensure on-time payments, dispute resolutions, and prevent financial penalties with partners.
• Manage program budgets and financial planning with precision.
• Collaborate with internal marketing and external partners to design co-branded digital and offline campaigns (SMS, WhatsApp, Influencers, Loan Melas).
• Seamlessly embed affordability propositions into product launches and go-to-market plans for greater visibility and impact.
• Lead the Xiaomi exchange ecosystem with partners like Cashify (pickup model) and Servify (self-liquidation model).
• Optimize Bump-Up programs to increase device exchanges and customer upgrades.
• Build new revenue channels by establishing a product refurbishment business with strong partner collaboration, demand planning, and pricing strategies.
• Track and report key KPIs for affordability and exchange programs to drive informed decision-making.
• Provide strategic insights to leadership based on partner performance and market trends.
• Own timely communication of all affordability and exchange offers to sales channels and external partners.
• Create concise, actionable updates that enable the sales force to utilize offers effectively.
• Lead a small escalation team to ensure prompt issue resolution and cross-functional alignment.

• Led nationwide operations across 110+ exclusive retail outlets: 34 COCO (Company-Owned Company-Operated), 15 FOCO (Franchise-Owned Company-Operated), and 61 FOFO (Franchise-Owned Franchise-Operated) stores in major Indian cities.
• Managed and mentored a team of 5 Exclusive Business Managers (EBMs), driving performance and operational excellence.
• Spearheaded the launch of bundle selling at Mi Homes and Mi Studios, enhancing customer value perception and boosting cross-category product uptake.
• Initiated “Call for All Categories” campaigns, significantly increasing footfall-to-conversion rate across exclusive retail formats.
• Achieved an all-time high sales record of ₹110 crore during the 45-day festive period of 2025, through strategic planning, inventory management, and tactical in-store execution.
• Ensured consistent business and operational efficiency across retail formats by streamlining processes, training staff, and closely monitoring KPIs.

• Company Overview: (Mobile, AIOT, PC)
• Ensured target achievement of all stakeholders through continuous review & follow-up.
• Accountable for increasing the width of distribution in terms of range & line sale of outlet and depth of distribution in terms of revenue growth per outlet and growth in Beat/Route thru-put.
• Provided on-field and off field training and coaching of Sales Executives.
• Identified right set of training & development for Team.
• Responsible for creating strong service management systems and processes.
• Optimize marketing budget utilization with proper accountability.
• Track and identify strategies to increase Market Share in both Print and PC business with seamless execution.
• Administered distributor ROI in line with industry standard.
• (Mobile, AIOT, PC)

• Company Overview: Own Business
• Business Development
• Client acquisition, nurture, conversion, Increase LTV and orchestrate referrals.
• Own Business

• Company Overview: (PC and Printer)
• Ensured target achievement of all stakeholders through continuous review & follow-up.
• Accountable for increasing the width of distribution in terms of range & line sale of outlet and depth of distribution in terms of revenue growth per outlet and growth in Beat/Route thru-put.
• Provided on-field and off field training and coaching of Sales Executives.
• Identified right set of training & development for Team.
• Responsible for creating strong service management systems and processes.
• Optimize marketing budget utilization with proper accountability.
• Track and identify strategies to increase Market Share in both Print and PC business with seamless execution.
• Administered distributor ROI in line with industry standard.
• (PC and Printer)

• Company Overview: (Mobile Handset)
• Strategy formulation for best S&D procedures by continuous performance evaluation.
• Forecasting sales targets and executing them in a given time frame, thus enhancing business growth.
• S&D process automation by converting hard information into soft information by digitalizing the process wherever required.
• Develop S&D road map. Design distribution template to reach out to maximum outlet effectively. Establish route to market, develop know how’s on Distribution management.
• Grow the existing WOD to ensure business sustainability.
• Developing and appointing new business partners to expand product reach in the market and working in close interaction with the dealers & distributors to assist them in promoting the products.
• Monitoring the performance of distributors relating sales, investment, infrastructure & involvement against set benchmarks.
• Acquiring & developing new geographies with distributors and negotiating with them for securing profitable business.
• Managing & ensuring Channel Partner satisfaction by achieving best inventory mix & fastest transit time for stock supply.
• Analyzing channel partners for growth opportunities on the basis of their current infrastructure, involvement and investment.
• Develop Support Station to share best practice and concerns in S&D.
• Set the benchmarks in S&D and have a competitive edge.
• Capability development of people in S&D by providing inputs to the training team and develop T&D calendar for the region.
• Identifying resource requirements for capacity build up, assigning responsibilities to the sales team and ensuring effective coordination amongst all.
• (Mobile Handset)

• Company Overview: (Mobile Handset)
• Strategy formulation for best S&D procedures by continuous performance evaluation.
• Forecasting sales targets and executing them in a given time frame, thus enhancing business growth.
• S&D process automation by converting hard information into soft information by digitalizing the process wherever required.
• Develop S&D road map. Design distribution template to reach out to maximum outlet effectively. Establish route to market, develop know how’s on Distribution management.
• Grow the existing WOD to ensure business sustainability.
• Developing and appointing new business partners to expand product reach in the market and working in close interaction with the dealers & distributors to assist them in promoting the products.
• Monitoring the performance of distributors relating sales, investment, infrastructure & involvement against set benchmarks.
• Acquiring & developing new geographies with distributors and negotiating with them for securing profitable business.
• Managing & ensuring Channel Partner satisfaction by achieving best inventory mix & fastest transit time for stock supply.
• Analyzing channel partners for growth opportunities on the basis of their current infrastructure, involvement and investment.
• Develop Support Station to share best practice and concerns in S&D.
• Set the benchmarks in S&D and have a competitive edge.
• Capability development of people in S&D by providing inputs to the training team and develop T&D calendar for the region.
• Identifying resource requirements for capacity build up, assigning responsibilities to the sales team and ensuring effective coordination amongst all.
• (Mobile Handset)

• Company Overview: (Fritolay Division)
• (Fritolay Division)

• Company Overview: (Currently Hindustan Unilever Limited)
• (Currently Hindustan Unilever Limited)