Exclusive: Chinese newcomer Miniso eyes Northern Ireland or Scotland as part of major UK expansion

Miniso UK chief operating officer Saad Usman said the company is weighing up opening stores in either country as it plans to scale the business in the UK. 

Usman said: “The country is quite big, which is good. That means there are lots of opportunities out there. In the next three to four months, we will be opening hopefully at least two to three stores, if not more. Some of them are close to London some are further afield from London. It’s a good mix.” 

Miniso has more than 5,400 stores globally with a presence on five continents and in 105 countries. The Chinese retailer entered the UK market in 2019 and has grown to 18 stores in the country. 

Usman said: “We want to open the right number of stores, so if that’s seven, then it’s seven. But if that’s 15, that could be 15. We don’t like to rush locations.

“We want to choose the right location and open at the right time. There are plenty of locations to choose from. Hopefully, it’s just a matter of finding the ones that work for us.

“We aim to have 45 to 50 stores in the country by 2025.”

The retailer is also working on improving its ecommerce offering in the UK. 

Usman said: “The goal for any retailer is to have a true omnichannel experience and that means a customer being able to not just purchase from every channel, online or from a store, but to also be able to engage seamlessly between those channels.

“We know that we still have a way to go. Ecommerce is something that has always been a little bit of a sideshow for us but this is hopefully going to change in the coming months. 

“We are looking to overhaul our website and offer more products on it. Click and collect is certainly a feature that we are looking to develop and is a high priority.” 

Miniso opened its latest UK store in Wandsworth, south London, earlier in March.