MINISO: 56% of new stores this year opened overseas — the international market has become the growth engine

名创优品 / MINISO — a Chinese home-goods and lifestyle-accessories retailer built on a model of affordable, frequently refreshed collections — grew its global store network to 8,565 locations as of the end of Q1 2026 (as of March 31). Of all new stores opened over the past year, 56% were overseas — meaning expansion outside China is outpacing new-store openings at home.

A format expanding beyond China

On January 30, at a global partner conference in Guangzhou, the company announced accelerated rollout of the MINISO LAND format — expanded flagship stores already operating in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, and Chongqing, as well as select overseas markets like Thailand. The company also names its own intellectual property (IP) lineup as a separate growth direction — collaborations with popular characters and brands that have historically been the main driver of MINISO's recognition among young audiences.

Numbers that explain the shift in priorities

The company's international revenue grew 41.9% in fiscal 2024 and already accounts for 39.4% of brand revenue — meaning the overseas market is close to matching the domestic Chinese market's contribution. For a retailer that started as a local mass-market player, this speed of shifting the business's center of gravity is a notable structural change, not cosmetic geographic expansion.

Why the MINISO model transfers well to new markets

The format's key advantage is a low customer entry price combined with rapid assortment turnover, which reduces dependence on local cultural preferences: the collection refreshes often enough that the brand can quickly adapt to what actually sells in a given country, rather than betting on one universal assortment for all markets at once.

More on Chinese retail formats going overseas is covered in the Southeast Asia retail program; the company's card is available on the GlobalTechTour site.