Budget Retail Giant Miniso Enters Toy Market

Budget retail store Miniso is joining the global toy market with the debut of its TOP TOY store in Guangzhou.

Miniso’s TOP TOY positions itself as a collection store for trendy toys, focusing on young consumer groups aged 10 to 40. Its products range from blind boxes, trendy toys and Japanese manga figurines, to dolls, assembled toys and building blocks, etc. The toys are priced from 39 yuan to tens of thousands of yuan.

Miniso’s CEO Guofu Ye said that creativity and experience are new trends in the retail market. He said the company hopes to explore the future and imagination through innovation and creativity, and incubate more new retail brands like TOP TOY.

Toys have become one of the most popular categories in Miniso’s Chinese and overseas markets, according to Vincent Huang, Miniso’s Vice President of the International Business Department.

“Europeans have developed a particular fondness for toys recently, especially plush toys,” Huang said. “Plush dolls ranked as the No.1 best-selling category, especially those we make in collaboration with well-known brands. In China, toys are also the most popular products, with 30% more toys sold compared to last year, accounting for 3.6% of total sales.”

On Dec. 18, Miniso released its financial report for the third quarter of 2020, which is the first financial report after its listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

As of Sept. 30, 2020, Miniso’s third-quarter revenue was 2.07 billion yuan, up 33.4% quarter on quarter. The company also realized a gross profit of 522.4 million yuan, an increase of 37.7% from the previous quarter; adjusted net profit was 102.1 million yuan ($15.59 million), an increase of 140.8% from the previous quarter.

Unlike the conservative strategy of many global consumer brands, Miniso further promoted global expansion amid the uncertainties during the pandemic. In the second half of 2020, Miniso opened new stores in Canada, the United States, Nigeria, India, Colombia, France, Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, Iceland and other countries.

Since Miniso’s NYSE listing in mid-October, it has opened over 100 stores in key markets such as Europe, China and other parts of Asia.

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In terms of sales channels, Miniso further grew its e-commerce channels through official widgets and third-party e-commerce platforms, complementing the advantages of physical stores. In the third quarter, Miniso’s e-commerce channel revenue accounted for 5% of its total revenue, which was a significant increase from less than 2% in the same period in 2019.

During China’s national Double 11 shopping festival, Miniso’s online sales skyrocketed 352% as the number of active online consumers increased 45% year-over-year. In Indonesia, the first international market where Miniso established its e-commerce channel, online sales soared 71% compared to last year.