Chinese retailer Miniso, which specializes in home furnishings, cosmetics, toys, and accessories, said it plans to double its number in the United States. The company will target aggressive growth amid falling personal income and an expected shift in consumer spending to the economy segment.
Miniso currently has about 30 stores in the U.S. under its management. By comparison, the company has about 3,000 stores in its home market of China.
As part of the new strategy, the retailer is ready to invest in developing a retail network in the U.S. market, which could be affected by the crisis in 2020. The company sees potential for possibly opening thousands of stores in the country, Reuters news agency reported.
Miniso was founded in Guangzhou in 2013. Today, the company generates more than 1.4 billion rubles in annual revenue, and its capitalization on the New York Stock Exchange is estimated at $4 billion. Miniso’s global network now includes 4,800 stores with locations in more than 90 countries.
Miniso now has the right conditions for development in the U.S. One of its main competitors, the Danish chain Flying Tiger Copenhagen, was forced to close all U.S. stores late last year and leave the market. In addition, rental rates and investment in new store launches are lower today than in 2019.
Miniso opened its first store in New York in November 2020, a flagship retail space appearing in the Tangram mall in the Flushing neighborhood, known for its active Asian-American community. In California, the brand seemed back in 2017. The company’s revenue from doing business in the U.S. is not disclosed, but it is known that sales in the first half of 2021 were up 73 percent.
“Ultimately, consumers don’t care if we’re Chinese or Japanese, American or European. What consumers care about is whether they can buy good products for the least amount of money,” Miniso commented on the new growth plans.
