Inside Miniso, the huge Chinese bargain retailer taking over UK high streets to rival Flying Tiger – with £1 homewares --[Reported by Umva mag]

IT is impossible to miss the bright pink MINISO store when I turn onto Camden High Street.

Like many people, I’ve seen the vibrant brand pop up in my local town, but I wasn’t entirely sure what products it sold or what the prices were like.

The Chinese retailer has been trading in the UK for five years, opening its first shop in Ealing, West London, but has flown relatively under the radar.

However, it now has 29 sites around the UK including spots in London’s Oxford Street, Westfield Stratford City and Manchester’s Arndale centre.

And if there is not one on your local high street, there could be soon, as Miniso revealed to The Sun it’s planning open 30 new stores over the next 18 months – taking its total to 59 stores.

That’s more than twice as many stores as iconic Swedish retailer IKEA and will put it on par with Danish store Flying Tiger, which sells an eclectic mix of households items and gifts.

Flying Tiger, however, has been forced to reduce its estate in recent years pulling out of the US market in 2020, while Miniso is plotting growth.

The stores are very colourful and you can expect to see a really random selection of products featuring children’s characters such as Hello Kitty and Pokemon.

I decided to check out the stores Camden branch which opened in February to see what the hype is about.

The first thing that hit me was how bright and colourful the store was – it was definitely unlike anything I had seen on the high street in recent years.

Walking around the shop, you definitely no longer feel like you are in Britain, with the shelves packed with southeast Asian snacks such as Strawberry flavoured Kit Kats.

Miniso was originally inspired by Japan’s 100 Yen convenience stores, which are much like the £1 bargain stores we are familiar with here in the UK.

So if you enjoy hunting around Poundland or B&M Bargains, I think you would enjoy shopping here.

Upon arrival, I made a bee-line for the beauty counter, which is a new fixture in Miniso stores.

The prices were very affordable with lipstick costing just £4.99 and a mascara for the same price.

Eyeshadows and lipliners were also up for grabs and they had a range of colours on offer.

If you are a regular at the Primark beauty counter, I think you would enjoy the range that Minsio stocks as the prices are very similar.

This particular store in Camden also had a range of Barbie makeup bags and other accessories inspired by the iconic doll.

Keeping things cheap

Despite inflation easing, price still plays a big factor in whether or not shoppers will spend at the till.

I spoke with Saad Usam, chief operating officer at Miniso in the UK, and he told me that the average customer spends £15 when they shop in the store.

But he added that up to 85% of its products are priced under £15, making it a real bargain chain.

For example, storage boxes cost just £1 and a range of mugs are on sale for £6 or less.

Mr Saad told me that during the pandemic, Minsio increased its prices slightly due to inflation, but in April last year they were lowered again by 15%.

If you are an adult walking past this store, it is easy to think that with the bright colours and images of Hello Kitty, it is just centred towards young children.

But it may be a hidden gem for picking up pieces for your home at a bargain price.

You can get a plain storage box for your fridge for £4.50 and a mouse for your computer for £15.

If you are a parent or shopping for a young child, the prices are quite reasonable with a cuddly toy costing £10.99.

The store also sells mystery goodie bags which can cost anywhere from £14.99 to £24.99.

While Miniso has an online store, Saad explains that most of its trade comes from in-store.

“A lot of our product is about touching and feeling,” he explains.

With a number of retailers vanishing from the high street, I was also curious to know how Miniso was breaking the mould and remaining confident in the UK retail market.

He explains that a constantly evolving product range is the key, alongside its affordable price point.

He added: “You need to have engaging, exciting spaces to invite customers in.

“Beauty is a huge category in the UK, and it’s something that we are tapping into at the affordable and high-quality level.”

What is happening to the British high street?

Miniso’s apparent success comes amid a challenging time for the whole of the UK’s retail sector. 

High inflation coupled with a squeeze on consumers’ finances has meant people have less money to spend in the shops. 

Also, the rising popularity of online shopping has meant people are favouring digital ordering over visiting a physical store.

Unseasonably wet weather has also deterred shoppers from hitting the high street. 

This ongoing issue has seen brands such as Paperchase, and The Body Shop collapse.

Minso appears to be one of the brands bucking this trend, with plans to open 30 stores in the next 12-18 months and up to 50 over the next five years.

The Sun recently compiled a list of all the new international brands opening on British high streets, which you can read here.

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