MINISO: How the Japan-inspired variety store captured the Bangladeshi imagination
If you notice, you will see the product line of MINISO is different at each branch. In one branch, skincare products are highlighted and in another, stationery products. But why?
Shah Rayeed Chowdhury had started his career at LankaBangla in 2013 and moved to Evince Group as a Director a year later. His work would often take him to Guangzhou in China to source some raw materials.
During his first solo business trip to the city, Rayeed roamed around the city every evening after wrapping up his work. He visited restaurants and sometimes he shopped at multinational brands.
One day, a store called MINISO grabbed his attention. What drew him to the store in that bustling city was how colourful it looked and that its name was printed in English, which is pretty rare in China.
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The store was full of colourful, vibrant products and a happy-looking crowd, and as he started looking at the price tags, he was pleasantly surprised at how reasonably priced most things were. It was hard to believe a store like this existed in the centre of Guangzhou.
He ended up purchasing a power bank for himself and some gifts for his family. And then he began researching the store.
The Japan-inspired variety store MINISO was founded in August 2009 by Chinese entrepreneur Ye Guofu and Japanese designer Miyake Junya. MINISO's first store opened in China in 2013. It now has over 5,000 stores in more than 100 countries with over 5,000 product styles.
MINISO Bangladesh is expecting to open nine more stores by the end of this year and plans to expand all over Bangladesh soon.
As much as Rayeed liked the store, he liked MINISO's business concept - providing high quality products at a reasonable price - even more. He thought of introducing something similar to Bangladesh but dropped the idea as he was unsure about whether he would be able to maintain the quality of products.
Three years down the line, MINISO arrived in Bangladesh through a branch in Banani and introduced over 12 different product categories such as electronics, household, toys, stationeries, cosmetics, perfumes, skincare products, bags, home décor, accessories, etc.
It turned out that one of Rayeed's friend was the Country Head of MINISO Bangladesh. Seeing Rayeed's interest in the brand, he connected Rayeed to the MINISO team.
By then, MINISO had understood that it would be tough for them to explore the Bangladeshi market without local amalgamation. Not long after, Evince Group took over MINISO in Bangladesh.
MINISO now has 14 stores in Bangladesh and is operated under a franchise business model. Among those, Evince Group owns six stores and the other eight stores are owned by franchisees.
This FOCO (Franchise Owned, Company Operated) model lets the Franchise owner have the ownership of the store and enjoy the profits while the MINISO Bangladesh Team takes care of all the operational responsibilities. The franchisees only need to invest while MINISO management takes care of the rest.
How the chain works
If you notice, you will see the product line of MINISO is different at each branch. In one branch, skincare products are highlighted and in another, stationery products. But why? It's because MINISO studies customer demand carefully in each area and brings products based on that.
A team of 200 people are relentlessly working to understand the market. From product forecasting to order placement to decorating a store, this skilled team is behind it.
The team studies the customers, their interests, demands, doable price ranges, the local market and interior design of the stores. These findings are later reported to the MINISO headquarters and after observation, both teams finalise orders.
After getting the order, the products are produced. These are designed not only in Japan but also in China, Norway, Denmark, Korea, Netherlands, Spain, Finland and manufactured in China, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, India. Once the products are disbursed to branches, these are showcased in a planned way because its purpose is to create a fun and comfortable shopping experience for the consumers.
The pricing strategy of MINISO Bangladesh is also simple. The business is centered around keeping a minimum profit margin from the sales, which is decided after discussing with MINISO headquarters.
"We believe if we study the market right and assure quality, people will find an interest in our products," Rayeed confidently said.
Forecasting has been one MINISO's strongest fortes in creating a hype and learning the market. In 2019, Marvel's playful crossover with MINISO followed a product forecasting strategy before entering the market, which was quite successful. After that, it has recently collaborated with world-famous brands such as Marvel, Coca Cola, Hello Kitty, Sesame Street, Disney, We Bare Bears, Pink Panther, Adventure Time to release playful crossover products after doing similar forecasts.
The future
Unlike others, MINISO Bangladesh did not have to face huge losses last year when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Rather, sales maximised once the stores reopened. MINISO Bangladesh is expecting to open nine more stores by the end of this year and plans to expand all over Bangladesh soon.
