Miniso to slow down offline expansion, plans to take online route for growth in India

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Jun 14, 2019

Miniso has decided to slow down its offline expansion in the Indian market due to infrastructure troubles and plans to take the online route for growth in the Indian market.
 

Miniso entered the Indian market in August 2017 and generated sales revenue of Rs 700 crore ($100 million) in its first year.
 
It had recently announced that it would be adding around 800 more stores in the Indian market over the next two years however the company has now shelved its offline expansion plan and decided to open just 60 more stores this year.

"Right now, online is a big plus. India retail market is not easy, 800 stores not possible," Young Liu, chief business development officer, Miniso told Moneycontrol.
 
"Before last year, we had a target in India market for 800 stores. But once we entered the market (we realised), that's not possible. We are facing a lot of problems in the retail market in India," he added.
 
Miniso has partnered with Indian-origin B2B e-commerce firm Achhacart to help strengthen its online presence in the country.
 
Commenting on the online expansion on Miniso, Siddharth Venkataraman, chief executive officer, Achhacart said, "Paytm Mall is already live with 300-400 SKUs (stock keeping unit), Meesho is also live, Snapdeal would be live next week, Paytm has already started PR and marketing for Miniso online and we expect Amazon and Flipkart to close by the month end," Siddharth Venkataraman, chief executive officer, Achhacart told Moneycontrol.
 
The company considers India as among the top five contributors to its global revenue and currently has 110 stores across India. It expects 10 percent of its revenue to come from the online segment by year end.