MAPIC Interview: Miniso Group Vice President and General Manager Overseas Business Vincent Huang
Chinese-founded lifestyle retailer Miniso has been on a determined global growth trajectory, with its sights firmly trained on Europe and the United States. Having debuted in China in 2013, it has since grown to around 8,000 stores in 111 markets.
Heading towards 500 European stores, Miniso is targeting large-format super stores in key high-traffic locations, leaning into its IP-collaboration strategy with Marvel, Disney and Barbie among others, after trialling the format in Shanghai – creating destination stores designed to drive footfall, dwell time and deeper engagement.
Since then it has launched its first Miniso Land store in Europe in Madrid, its first Asian large store in Bangkok, Thailand in October and even more recently at the West Edmonton Mall in Canada.
The company entered the US market in 2017 and having opened a statement Times Square in New York which announced its growing presence, has been expanding rapidly across North America.
“The Miniso Land format is typically around 1,000 sq m compared with our usual stores at about 300 sq m and they include far more space for experience, for parties, for younger customers to have fun,” Miniso Group Vice President and General Manager Overseas Business Vincent Huang said.
Vincent Huang, Miniso Group Vice President and General Manager Overseas Business
Miniso has opened around 10 Miniso Land stores around China now and Huang said that the debut store, which has traded for a little under a year, has achieved sales of about $50 million on its own.
“While our store expansion pace may slow a little after some incredible years growing the brand around the world, we want to open more of these large stores where we can really showcase our IP collaborations and also our own IP,” he added.
Huang believes these larger stores can embed Miniso as a destination and bring new ways of the retailer engaging with its consumers, focused far more on experience and engagement.
Target markets will continue to feature the major European countries, while Miniso will open its first store in Switzerland next year.
Essentially a simple idea at heart, realising a mix of well-known IPs for a range of merchandise, Huang believes that the success has been based on the emotional value that the products offer in particular to Gen Z and Gen A, while he also feels that the retailer’s focus on value for money has been essential in establishing the brand.
“I think that if you bring together products that really resonate with shoppers and then you are able to sell them at a great price, then you have a fantastic proposition,” he stressed.
