Miniso helps rewrite toy sector story

The company reported first-half revenue of 11.5 billion yuan ($1.7 billion), up 22.4 percent year-on-year. Chinese mainland market revenue climbed 26.2 percent, the fastest first-half growth in three years, while the number of stores increased just 8 percent, indicating a sharp improvement in per-store sales performance.

"China stores delivered a substantial increase in per-store output," Ye told investors.

The performance also outpaced the country's broader retail market, where overall retail sales rose just 1.3 percent year-on-year in the January-June period.

Ye attributes much of that outperformance to two structural strategic moves: larger experiential stores and proprietary IP.

"You can see emotional consumption continuing to grow," he said at the earnings call. "Outdoor products, trendy toys and IP merchandise are performing well, while traditional retail categories are growing much more slowly."

Rather than simply expanding store count, Miniso is investing in larger formats designed around immersive experiences.

Traditional neighborhood stores continue serving everyday purchases, while Miniso Land locations function as showcases for new IP launches, themed exhibitions and interactive installations designed to keep consumers browsing longer.

Ye has set an ambitious goal of expanding the format to between 1,200 and 1,500 locations over time, saying productivity should eventually rival nearby Pop Mart stores operating in the same shopping districts.

The strategy also marks a significant shift in how Miniso thinks about IP. For years, the retailer built its business around licensed characters from Disney, Sanrio, Marvel and dozens of other non-domestic brands. By 2025, it held nearly 180 licensed IP partnerships but relatively few original creations.

That model generated traffic but came at a growing cost. Licensing expenses rose 48 percent year-on-year in the first half to 356 million yuan.

Ye has openly acknowledged that relying solely on licensed IP meant "renting traffic".

"Now the company wants to own it."

Its biggest success so far has been Yoyo. Launched only a year ago, the original character generated nearly 500 million yuan in first-half sales. Monthly revenue exceeded 100 million yuan in both June and July, allowing Miniso to achieve its full-year sales target several months ahead of schedule.

The company has since expanded Yoyo into 53 countries and regions through its network of more than 8,600 stores around the world.

The company is also investing in future characters through its IP Prodigy Youth Program, recruiting artists globally with the ambition of bringing hundreds of Chinese IPs to international markets.

Yet the company's approach differs markedly from many of China's best-known toy companies.

Pop Mart's Labubu spent years building a dedicated collector community before becoming a global phenomenon. Much of its value was created through fan culture, secondary-market trading and user-generated content before large-scale retail expansion followed.

Miniso is reversing that sequence. Its extensive retail network introduces new characters directly to millions of shoppers, many of whom discover an IP for the first time while browsing stores. Distribution comes first; fandom develops later.

That approach offers obvious advantages. Shanghai's flagship Miniso Land on Nanjing East Road generated more than 100 million yuan in sales during its first nine months, with IP merchandise accounting for nearly 80 percent of revenue.

But it also raises a longer-term question. Strong retail distribution can rapidly create blockbuster sales. Building a lasting IP franchise, however, often depends on cultivating loyal collectors who continue engaging with characters long after the initial novelty fades.

Whether consumers buying a Yoyo during casual shopping trips eventually become committed fans may determine whether Miniso evolves from a successful retailer into a global IP company.

As the global toy market increasingly shifts toward fandom, emotional consumption and original content, the country's role is also changing. Rather than simply manufacturing toys for international brands, it is becoming one of the industry's most important creators of new IP and retail formats.

wangzhuoqiong@chinadaily.com.cn