Decoding 'marketing myopia' of miniso
- 2. Chinese entrepreneur Ye Guofu together with Japanese designer Miyake Junya founded the low-cost variety store chain Miniso in 2013. Inspired from 100-yen shops in Japan and other similar retail businesses across Europe and the U.S., it specializes in household and consumer goods including cosmetics, stationery, toys, and kitchenware. https://www.miniso.com/EN/Brand/Intro
- 3. In the last five years, Miniso emerged as the fastest-growing retailer in China, now with a global empire of 3,500 stores in 79 countries with total sales of USD 2.6 billion in 2018. Well as big as it gets, Miniso plans to have 10,000 stores in 100 countries by 2022 with a sales goal of USD 15 billion. https://www.foundingfuel.com/article/how-variety-store-miniso-became-a-megasuccess/
- 4. Before we decode 'Miniso a mega-success,' let me first introduce you to the concept of marketing myopia. Theodore Levitt of HBR defined marketing myopia as "the pool of companies that jeopardized their fortunes by having a very inward-looking approach to fulfill the immediate needs of selling the product and not focusing on the consumer.”
- 5. Miniso studied its consumers well, basing it on intensive data-driven algorithms that find global trends and reproduce in as little as three days. Its low-cost, low-priced business model has worked a charm for it. Low price for products that are limited in stock, eventually increases the inventory turnover along with the in-store traffic. And since, Miniso is a fast fashion retail chain, therefore, new products are displayed after every 7 days.
- 7. Partnership and brand collaborations in the retail world have never really gone wrong, has it? the second major reason behind Miniso's mega-empire is its smart brand collaborations. Dealing in stationary, toys, personal care, etc. primarily, Miniso’s target audience largely includes Gen Z and Gen X. Hence, it exhibited synergy by collaborating with brands like The Pink Panther, Hello Kitty, and of course the Marvel Studios. https://www.cegid.com/en/studycases/chinese-retailer-miniso-opts-for-cegid-retail-unified-commerce-platform-stores-europe-france/
- 8. Speaking of store aesthetics, its economical yet good quality products are shelved and presented in a particular manner. Like personal care products are placed right in between of cosmetics and accessories section. Stationery items are found near home décor and kitchenware products. Miniso follows an American color palette mostly pastels which is very common in most East Asian retails. Miniso’s psychological marketing is the actual MVP of its increasing sales. It follows the very common psychological pricing pattern keeping their products at 99 or 299. The personalized touch in its products like adding sun signs to the perfumes, customizable notes, cute color compositions speak more to consumers. Another reason is always ready-to-assist floor staff. Whenever you enter a Miniso store, there's always a vibrant atmosphere with Billboard Top 50 tracks playing to give a feel-good experience. MINISO is the global promoter of “intelligent consumer products”.
- 9. Miniso pays close attention to its store design. Their stores very vividly reflect the high-quality design of their products, minimalistic and modern. https://www.indianretailer.com/news/miniso-strengthens-presence-in-india-with-new-store-launch-in-madurai.n10301/ https://www.indulgexpress.com/fashion/new-launches/2018/nov/23/miniso-brings-japanese-kitsch-to-coimbatore-with-everything-from-skincare-to-kitchenware-11226.html
- 10. While all these make perfect sense, one still can't deny the impact of its strong social media presence. There are hundreds of 'Miniso Haul' videos on YouTube, on Instagram, etc. and thanks to the influencer collaborations now everyone is walking around with those Marvel coin pouches.
- 11. Its expertise in trend and demand prediction, adaptation to popular tastes, quick turnaround time, and offering of a wide range of items make it an easy-on-pocket brand for customers who cannot afford high-priced yet sustainable items. However, Miniso a ‘Japanese’ inspired brand which is run by a Chinese entrepreneur has been criticized for imitating other Japanese brands like Muji, Daiso, etc. it'd be interesting to see how Miniso fares in the future. Tell us what do you think.