Moves
- Start inside a microculture
- Run the brand like a franchise
2026 rank
MINISO, rank 11
- Rival 50 Score
- 3.88
- Differentiation
- 4.0
- Relevance
- 4.0
- Talkability
- 4.42
Growth signalIts own character YOYO reportedly generated more than RMB 1 billion in gross merchandise value in its first three quarters, across 53 countries and regions.
MINISO became a global retailer by renting the world’s favorite characters. Its future depends on whether shoppers will fall for characters it creates itself.
Discount stores compete on price and convenience. Shoppers go in for something cheap, get it and leave. MINISO, founded in China in 2013, turned the discount store into a destination. A trip becomes a treasure hunt for a character plushie, a blind box or a limited-edition accessory nobody knew they wanted until they saw it.
The formula is simple and hard to copy. Licensed characters from franchises like Hello Kitty, Disney and Harry Potter pull people in. Low prices make collecting feel affordable. A constant stream of new drops gives fans a reason to come back. It has turned MINISO into one of the world’s fastest-growing retailers, and it’s now trying to turn borrowed attention into characters it owns.
Scoring
Differentiation
Score 4.0
The category default: retailers license famous characters to sell products that are otherwise interchangeable.
What MINISO did: built MINISO LAND, immersive flagship stores where character merchandise makes up the large majority of sales. At the same time, it’s developing original characters it owns outright, including YOYO, Kumaru and Carrot Street.
So what: licensed characters bring shoppers in, but the loyalty goes to the character, not the store. Owned characters are how a retailer turns other people’s culture into something only it can sell.
Relevance
Score 4.0
The category default: fandom retail chases whatever franchise is trending, so its appeal fades when the trend does.
What MINISO did: priced collecting as a small daily treat. CEO Ye Guofu calls it “interest-driven consumption”: shopping for what you love rather than what you need. It’s a strategy MINISO is now taking around the world, including a rapid expansion in the US.
So what: a plushie costs about the same as a coffee, yet it offers the thrill of collecting and a stake in a fandom. For a generation feeling financial pressure, that’s an affordable way to express who you are, and it works across borders.
Talkability
Score 4.42
The category default: a celebrity collaboration is a product line that disappears after one season.
What MINISO did: launched the LISA × MINISO global pop-up tour in Bangkok in September 2026, taking over more than 250 mall screens before moving through Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Jakarta, with the US next. The centerpiece is a blind box that pairs the BLACKPINK star with MINISO’s own character, YOYO.
So what: most collaborations borrow fame and give it back when they end. This one uses LISA’s fame to introduce YOYO to millions of her fans. When the tour ends, MINISO keeps a character that more people now love, and it’s entirely MINISO’s own.
Our take
MINISO’s growth has always run on borrowed characters. Shoppers come in for Hello Kitty or Toy Story and leave with no particular attachment to MINISO. The company knows it, which is why its push into original characters is the most important bet in its strategy.
The stakes are clear across the industry. Toy and collectibles companies have shown that a single owned character can become a global craze worth more than any license, and that brands without one are always paying someone else for their popularity. Licensing buys access to affection that already exists. Creating a character means earning it from scratch.
The LISA tour shows the smartest way to bridge the two: use borrowed fame to launch owned characters, rather than choosing one or the other. If YOYO and its successors can hold fans’ attention beyond a single drop or celebrity partnership, MINISO stops renting culture to drive store traffic and starts creating culture of its own.
Marketer takeaways
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1. MAKE THE STORE WORTH THE TRIP.
Turn a shopping errand into an experience people seek out.
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2. PRICE THE EMOTION, NOT JUST THE PRODUCT.
Affordable collectibles let people buy into a fandom without a big commitment.
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3. USE BORROWED FAME TO BUILD OWNED ASSETS.
The best collaborations introduce something you own to an audience that already exists.
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4. OWN WHAT COMPOUNDS.
Licenses deliver reach quickly. Characters you own build value that grows long after any campaign ends.
Advisor commentary
Discount retail has always traded experience for low prices. 2026 advisor Sadira E. Furlow says MINISO broke that trade-off:
“it’s made discount retail something to be experienced, not just shopped.”
Sadira E. Furlow Former CMO Tony’s Chocolonely
Reviewers’ view
Reviewers credited MINISO with positioning IP collectibles as a lifestyle, powered by fandom collaborations such as Harry Potter, Disney and BlackPink. They also highlighted its hype-driving limited drops and unboxing campaigns, and its pull with collector, trading and Discord fan communities.