RETAIL WATCH
Miniso seeks to attract older buyers with $2 concept stores It aims to provide the best bang for the buck with its super cheap yet quality items.
MINISO branch at Bishan Junction 8 Shopping Centre
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iniso is already known for selling cheap yet fashionable products, but they are taking it a step further with their $2 concept stores in Singapore. And they already have their eyes set on stingier, older customers looking for cheap quality goods amidst the high cost of living in Singapore. First launched at HarbourFront Centre and IMM in October 2019, the concept stores offer a wide-ranging selection from household goods to electronic devices. These include fans, coffee machines, keyboards, Bluetooth earphones, bags and organiser, a press release revealed. As they promise, these are all priced at S$2, whereas a pair of headphones for instance would typically cost around $25. This is also the case for a desk lamp that would have been priced $15, or a bag that would normally cost $8 to $9. The S$2 concept store was initially a trial run aiming to attract older and price-sensitive consumers with a re-selection of goods based on price, a spokesperson told Singapore Business Review. The company also noted that although Singapore’s economy is considered to be very developed, the cost of living is also very high, which would prompt strong demand from local consumers for consumer goods that are as high-quality as they are affordable. In particular, many consumers are still taking a waitand-see approach on Miniso’s collaboration offerings, 16
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | JUNE 2020
On the eve of the opening of IMM MINISO outlet, hundreds of people stood in line outside the store to get coveted items for the first time.
such as the Marvel x Miniso official licensed store, the spokesperson noted. “We started with MINISO outlet ($2 concept stores) as a bridge between the lower price and good quality products that can reduce the psychological burden of consumers’ consumption threshold and build their trust and confidence for MINISO,” Miniso told Retail Asia in an exclusive correspondence. The store was well-received—by its third weekend in November, the IMM store recorded sales volume four times of the usual sales figure of their stores, and consumers bought 12 products on average, according to a press release. Miniso also said that the transaction unit price for each customer reached a peak of above $25.03 (RMB176.7), but there was still associated purchase rate ranging between 1.3 and 5.0. They also found that the growth rate of sales of their outlet was three to four times over the normal stores. “On the eve of the opening of IMM MINISO outlet, hundreds of people stood in line outside the store to get coveted items for the first time. Three hours before the opening time, many MINISO fans and loyal consumers waited in a long queue outside the store,” it noted. Founded in 2013 by Ye Guofu and Miyake Junya, the fast fashion brand and variety store established itself in China and has since expanded with 4,000 stores across over 90 countries by end of 2019, with an average monthly growth rate of 80 - 100 stores, according to its company website. This includes Singapore, where it has already launched 31 stores since launching operations in the city in 2015. Miniso has adopted a double model for its business in the city. Besides the $2 store, it also runs Marvel x Miniso official licensed store in Westgate, Vivo city, NEX, North Point City and more. The brand aims to bring the attention of trendy youth with Marvelthemed merchandise like tumblers, lamps, keychains and plush toys. Their spokesperson noted that with this setup, it aims to cover as wide a variety of consumers as possible. The company plans to expand the categories of its $2 stores to further cover the demand of their consumers’ daily lives, and bring in more designers and IP products. They are also looking to optimise their operations to eventually form a unique business model for these outlets. Further, they have been gradually setting up $2 zones in all stores. “We hope to use this as a market “laboratory” to continuously optimise MINISO’s operation model, products and services in the Singapore market,” the spokesperson from the fast fashion brand said.
