Is Miniso the next Daiso?
By now, we have all heard about the troubles that the retail scene in Singapore has been facing. From record high mall vacancy rates of 8.4% at the end of Q3 2016 to the dominance of online retailers, so much so that they have started to move into malls, the picture has become pretty gloomy. However, one Japanese retailer is looking to buck the depressing trend with a move to open 20 more stores island-wide by the end of 2017.
Singapore: A Mini Japan
Singapore is by no means a stranger to Japanese retailers thriving in our tough retail environment. Brands like Uniqlo, Daiso, Tokyu Hands, Muji, and Japan Home have managed to establish themselves as stalwarts in malls across the island, and now Miniso is looking to do the same.
Miniso, which plans to bring their total store count up to 46 by the year’s end, only entered the Singapore market at the end of 2015. The company, launched in a partnership between Japanese designer Miyake Jyunya and Chinese entrepreneur Ye Guo Fu, had a rather rough start in Singapore, with consumers questioning the legitimacy of the company’s origins and making comparisons to other similar Japanese retailers. However, Miniso has since flourished – and this success without an online store to prop up profits.
Is Miniso The Next Daiso?
Their products, all of which cost under S$40, range from kitchenware and electronics to makeup and knick-knacks – not unlike its competitors – which begs the question: where did they go right, where others have failed? According to Jyunya, they attribute this success to being “very diverse in [their] offerings” while keeping prices low with products which are of a better quality than their competitors that “offer value to the Singaporean consumer.”
Alex Zhang, Miniso Singapore’s Director, added, saying, “from what we observed, Singaporeans still enjoy the experience of shopping in malls. People here still love seeing the designs and products in person before buying them.”
All Thanks To Technology
This success in the retail scene, however, does not mean that they are spurning the rise of technology. In fact, the company is looking to employ technology to ease the worsening labour shortage in the retail scene and increase staff efficiency, through the use of automatic stock replenishment systems and data analytics to modernise its process. Mr Zhang said that this would allow “[their] staff to focus more of their energy on running and maintaining the store, instead of taking care of the back-end processes.”
While other retailers might be facing challenges in today’s business landscape – like Challenger Tech, which saw their Q4 2016 profits fall to $3.02 million, a 61 percent slide – Miniso’s easy-to-understand concept and competitive pricing allows them to prosper. The brand, which now has over a thousand stores in China alone, as well as a multitude more in countries across the globe, is the perfect example of how traditional brick-and-mortar stores can still thrive in today’s environment of online dominated retail businesses.
