MINISO

Life is for Fun 

The MINISO brand was founded to create a lifestyle that brings products back to their essence – offering diverse, high-quality goods at accessible prices. In this interview, we speak with Vincent Huang, Vice President of MINISO’s International Business Department to learn more about the evolution of the company and what its next phase of international expansion looks like.

Since its launch in 2013, this founding vision has evolved. In its first decade of operation, MINISO’s first phase of international expansion focused on delivering high-value products through cost-effective strategies, rapidly scaling via global channels and cost leadership.

In 2023, MINISO entered its second phase of global expansion. With sustained cost advantages, they aim to differentiate through global IP, design and channel integration – pursuing IP inclusiveness and becoming the world’s leading IP design retail group. Guided by their “Joy Philosophy”, they aim to continue bringing happiness to consumers worldwide.

“Our success has come from balancing interest-driven consumption and affordable consumption, bringing quality and affordability to broader customers,” highlights Vincent Huang, Vice President of MINISO’s International Business Department. “We drive product innovation and collaborate with global partners to strengthen the ecosystem’s competitiveness. We operate four global design centres in China, the US, Japan and South Korea and have partnered with over 150 IPs, including more than half of the world’s top 20 licensors, with over 800 million units sold.”

To meet increasingly diverse consumer needs, the company has launched a new store matrix, including IP-themed stores to deepen consumer engagement with IP collaborations and category-focused stores to reinforce the brand’s position across all consumer levels and channels.

Among these, MINISO LAND stands as the world’s first IP-themed retail store. The Madrid flagship store, the first MINISO LAND in Europe, combines IP, immersive scenes and interactive experiences to create social, shareable moments. MINISO LAND has so far opened in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and Madrid, with further expansion planned in key cities around the world.

When selecting new markets and locations for their stores, they prioritise markets with large populations and a high proportion of young consumers, such as Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand) and the Middle East. They also target developed markets such as Europe and North America, where lifestyle products are in high demand.

“We focus on prime locations in high-end business districts worldwide, balancing brand image with sales performance. Our goal is to develop differentiated superstores that improve average store efficiency and maximise offline retail value,” comments Huang.

Operating such a wide and expansive store portfolio, the company adapts product design to local needs by offering region-specific items – such as pocket-sized wet wipes for the Middle East, larger-sized products for the Americas and waterproof cosmetics for Southeast Asia. In addition, their marketing campaigns are tailored to local festivals like St. Patrick’s Day and Raya, with promotions adjusted for cultural habits.

“In Indonesia, for instance, where consumers prefer instant gratification, we schedule promotions on bi-monthly paydays. We also localise store formats by region, including pop-ups, MINISO LAND and flagship stores, to align with different consumer preferences,” Huang says.

As our discussion moves onto the topic of brand and product development, it becomes apparent that the business values global influence, emotional resonance and fan loyalty when selecting IP partners. They have collaborated with iconic names such as Harry Potter and Sanrio, while also considering local preferences and integrating regional IPs through localised production and development.

In 2024, they launched the Chiikawa collaboration in China, hosted Harry Potter global pop-ups and opened exclusive offline theme stores for Black Myth: Wukong. Over 90 collaborations are currently scheduled for this year, covering evergreen IP’s and high-potential IPs.

By leveraging local teams and agents, they guide product development through real-time market feedback. With access to China’s 1.4 billion consumers, they also draw insights from large-scale behavioural data.

Finally, the Vice President comments that MINISO launch over 10,000 new products annually under the “711” strategy, enabling rapid updates and ongoing optimisation. Focusing on younger consumers and emerging trends, they emphasise high-potential categories like plush toys, blind boxes, pets and anime – supporting growth through campaigns such as the Blind Box Festival.

We next ask Huang about the rise of e-commerce and how the company is integrating digital strategies into its operations.

“MINISO integrates offline and online channels to create a seamless experience. Offline stores focus on offering immersive engagement and emotional connection with consumers, while online channels extend this experience and drive conversion. Starting this year, we have upgraded our membership system and use big data analysis for more personalised product recommendations and marketing activities to further enhance customer satisfaction and repurchase rates.”

A growing concern for consumers; sustainability is something that MINISO takes very seriously and they use recycled PET plastic bottles to create eco-friendly plush toys, recycling over 1.25 million PET bottles. They also promote green packaging, using FSC-certified paper and reducing single-use plastic. Meanwhile, 34 SKUs have replaced plastic with paper, reducing product packaging weight by 25 grams.

Before our time runs out, we ask Huang where he sees the brand in the years to come and what its aims are.

“Our goal is for MINISO to become a superbrand and the world’s leading IP design retail group in the next five to ten years. In the shorter term, by 2028 our target is for half of our sales to be IP sales and we want to double our store count compared to our 2023 numbers,” answers Huang.

“As we move forward, we will continue to focus on bringing more super products such as blind boxes, plush toys, pets and anime with our “Joy Philosophy” to consumers worldwide, which will be key growth drivers for our future.”