Xiaomi, a Chinese brand known for its mobile phones and smart home appliances, has just released its first vehicle, the Xiaomi SU7. But before the electric vehicle could hit the streets, another Xiaomi product had already inadvertently stolen its spotlight: a work jacket worn by CEO Lei Jun.
In promotional images related to the car, Lei wears a smoke grey jacket with an orange Xiaomi logo, part of the uniform for Xiaomi autoworkers. The CEO’s own post of himself wearing the jacket on his Weibo account received more than 20,000 likes, and fans showered him with compliments in comments section. “He looks stunning in this work uniform” and “How is CEO Lei so tall? [What a] handsome 180 cm tall lad” were among the top comments.
Indeed, Xiaomi fans liked the uniform so much that they demanded Lei put it up for sale. Pleasantly surprised and wanting to satisfy public demand, Xiaomi released a limited edition of 800 jackets selling at 299 RMB (around 40 USD) each. On online shopping platform Taobao, “CEO Lei’s Xiaomi Car Factory Uniform Jacket” features special details including strips of reflective fabric and the longitude and latitude coordinates for Xiaomi’s Beijing car factory on the back.
The jacket instantly sold out, and re-sale prices have reached up to nearly 2000 RMB (around 270) on Taobao, leading many netizens to despair over missing out. “Hesitated for two minutes and now it’s sold out,” lamented one Weibo user. With a laugh-cry emoji, another user yearned for their post to be noticed: “CEO Lei, I am typing a longer message so you notice [this post]. I wanted this jacket so badly, to wear it while driving your Xiaomi SU7 and take the same picture as you. Now I don’t have the jacket.”
In fact, this isn’t first time Lei has taken on the role of fashion influencer. Back in 2018, the official Xiaomi Weibo account dug up images from a decade earlier, when Lei served as a spokesperson for fashion retailer VANCL. The CEO also occasionally posts photos of the shoes he wears on his morning runs.
Lei has been called “The Steve Jobs of China,” and it would seem the comparison goes beyond his skills at marketing tech and inspiring a devoted fan base — with the uniform jacket he may have found his own Issey Miyake black turtleneck.
Banner image via Weibo.
