Miniso charts global expansion plan

Chinese chain retailer Miniso is looking toward to overseas expansion in the following years, said a senior company executive of the Guangzhou, Guangdong province-based company.

"We have upgraded the global brand strategy by deeply participating in global retail market competition following a new round of recovery in the offline consumption sector," said Ye Guofu, founder and chief executive officer of Miniso, for which 2023 marks the 10th year since its establishment.

According to its unaudited financial results for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2023, the company's revenue in the overseas market reached 990 million yuan ($142.04 million), accounting for 40 percent of its total revenue, marking a record high in the past 13 quarters.

By the end of 2022, Miniso had opened 5,440 outlets globally, of which over 2,115 are based overseas, according to the company.

"The positive trend in overseas markets has boosted our confidence to actively expand our business in the post-COVID period," Ye said.

The company's overseas outlets expanded rapidly in 2022, with more being established in the commercial areas of Madrid, Spain; London; Florence, Italy; Canberra; Amsterdam; and Lima, Peru.

"We will open more flagship stores in provincial capitals across the country and global flagship stores in key overseas markets," Ye said.

Ye said a global flagship store will soon be established in New York's Times Square and "we hope the number of stores in the United States will reach 1,500. We believe the US market will become a major engine for our business growth".

In the North American market alone, the company's revenue increased by 70 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of the fiscal year, which referred to the period from October to December, according to the company.

"We are determined to become a top brand in the international market by creating more innovative products, although the global consumer market faced unprecedented challenges in the past three years," Ye said.

The company will continue to work closely with the world's top IPs such as Disney to develop more attractive, innovative products that are easy to be used, according to Ye.

The company, which announced its listing on the NYSE in October 2020, has adopted a more positive strategy and controlled the expansion rate overseas, he added.

"We also took various measures to actively help our distributors to clear their inventory and have actively expanded our online channels," Ye said.

Additionally, the company plans to establish four design centers in China, the US, Japan and South Korea, to provide more professional solutions to different markets.

"Relying on the leading advantage of China's supply chain, we will integrate more than 1,100 high-quality supply chain enterprises and incorporate with the world's top consumption trend insight institutions to develop more bestselling goods with IP designs," Ye said.

Citing the global consumer sector, including the retail, catering, tourism and movie segments, which were severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in the past three years, Ye said the establishment of more offline outlets would be helpful for better consumption recovery.

"A strong recovery of the consumption sector would, in return, help accelerate the resumption of the manufacturing industry, which is key to overall economic growth," he said.

In the Chinese market alone, the consumer market has been steadily recovering since the beginning of this year, showing a rising momentum following the optimization of COVID-19 measures, the Ministry of Commerce said during a recent news briefing.

During the Chinese New Year holiday, sales volumes of key retail and catering enterprises in China increased by 6.8 percent year-on-year. Malls, supermarkets, cinemas and sightseeing areas saw their popularity rise significantly, according to the ministry.