Federal Government’s quest for foreign direct investment (FDI) received a boost, as Miniso, a top Japanese designer brand and market leader, opens its world-class shopping malls in Lagos.


Listed as a fast growing retail brand since its establishment in 2013, Miniso has actively explored the international retail market by opening over 2,250 stores in 41 countries.

The Managing Director, Miniso Nigeria, Chris Lee, said at a press conference to unveil the retail brand in Lagos, Wednesday that plans have been concluded to open new outlets in 15 other countries, adding that it had a turnover of $750million in 2015, and $1.5billion in 2016.

He explained that Miniso, whose strongest competitors include Muji, Daiso, Watson, and Uniqlo has beaten all odds with an average monthly growth rate of 80-100 stores in the United States, Canada, Russia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, and Australia.

Lee said Miniso products are lifestyle essentials that include creative home necessities, health and beauty products, fashion, gadgets and digital accessories as well as stationery, gifts, unique toys series, seasonal products, and Kitchenware, and a host of others with more than 10,000 SKUs.

“Miniso advocates a philosophy of quality life, and is dedicated to providing premium and high-quality products to its customers, with a creative ideology of competitive and affordable pricing.

“It continuously selects the best materials from all over the world for its products designs, with a focus on the ‘home’ and ‘life’, while 80 per cent of the designs are from Japan, Korea, Sweden, Denmark, Singapore, China, and Malaysia.”

Quoting Ye Guofu, a co-founder of Miniso, Lee said the statement: “the higher the price, the better the quality” is only the excuse for enterprises finding a way to sell products at high prices.

“Those ‘low price with bad quality’ products resulted from the profiteering desire originated from the period of command economy. The time for ‘good quality with low price’ products has just begun. In this era, the actual value of a brand should be beneficial to millions of people rather than providing services only to the noble and the rich. These very values and principles have induced the inception of Miniso.”

Miniso will open its shops on September 10, 2017 at Ikeja City Mall (Alausa, Ikeja), Circle mall (Lekki), and Novare Mall (Sangotedo-Ajah), while its Palms Mall (Lekki), Festival Mall (Festac), and Maryland Mall (Maryland) will be opened on September 29.

Marketing Communications Manager, Miniso Nigeria, Colette Atane, also revealed Nollywood actress, Stephanie Linus, as the Brand Ambassador for the retail outlet.

Atane said the Miniso Brand philosophy of “simple, natural and quality,” is the reason for Stephanie’s choice as brand ambassador, as she exemplifies the essence of the Miniso brand.

Responding, Stephanie expressed excitement about the breath of fresh air coming into the Nigerian retail market, as it represents the perfect mix of ‘quality and affordability’ with a wide range of products that will appeal to all age groups.