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Chinese drone maker DJI this weekend opened its first flagship store, taking over the whole of a tall, futuristic-looking building in an upmarket area of the startup’s home city of Shenzhen. The shop features a towering space enclosed with thin steel wires where shoppers can see drones in action in a safe environment.

DJI’s not the Xiaomi of drones – it’s the Apple of drones.

The move looks like a sign of confidence by the Chinese startup, which this year secured US$75 million in funding to value the business at US$10 billion.

This is DJI’s first standalone shop, coming after small department store concessions and occasional pop-up stores, explains Kevin On, DJI’s associate director of communications, to Tech in Asia.

The store’s flight chamber (left). The SkyPixel area (right) showcases photos and videos from DJI owners around the world.

Shoppers get their photo taken by a drone.

DJI is now one of a small handful of companies gaining fame around the world for making drones. The new store – and upcoming shops around the world – will cement the brand name and position it firmly in the mid-range to high end of a market that’s flooded by cheap manufacturers. DJI’s not the Xiaomi of drones – it’s the Apple of drones.

The firm’s drones, which come with specially-made cameras, start at about US$700 for the Phantom 3 series (for the regular consumer market) and run to well over US$10,000 for commercial drones like the crop dusting one revealed a few weeks ago.

Shenzhen’s OCT Harbor area before the store opened on Sunday.

Kevin explains that the building, in Shenzhen’s OCT Harbor area, is a former city tourist information place that authorities decided to lease out to a drone company – and DJI won them over with a pitch on why the startup deserved the sizeable spot.

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