EconomyFinancialHow Miniso, Mumuso and other stores conquered Mexico selling...

How Miniso, Mumuso and other stores conquered Mexico selling "little things"

Walking through a shopping center or the streets of Mexico City also means finding countless stores selling Asian products , such as Miniso or Mumuso , which manage to capture the attention of consumers, who cannot resist going out with a purchase.

“When I go to the store it is not to buy something specific or something I need , like in the supermarket. I like their products, most of them are of acceptable quality and there are many stores”, says Alejandrina Corona, about Miniso, where she has bought everything from makeup brushes to headphones.

The store that Corona refers to was the first of a great wave to arrive in Mexico, in 2016. The first store of the Japanese company to open its doors was the one located in the Galerías Coapa shopping center, and since then, the expansion it was aggressive. In three years it opened 120 branches with which it managed to cover 50% of the national territory .

Miniso , which sells Japanese design products, expects to reach 200 points of sale in Mexico by 2023 . Although his arrival caused euphoria among Mexicans, he has more and more competitors, as his arrival was followed by other players such as Hema , Mumuso or Ale Hop , who have expanded the offer for consumers while betting on differentiators.

Mumuso was the second to land in Mexico in 2018 and, in addition to its physical stores, which are around 70 units, it has an online store within the Mercado Libre marketplace . This chain of Korean products is inspired by a culture that is experiencing a boom in Mexico, fueled by k-pop and k-dramas , unlike Miniso, which is more kawaii .

The category variety stores , in which these chain stores are located, reached sales of 9,771 million dollars in 2017, according to Euromonitor. In addition, it is expected to have a growth of 27% by the end of 2022 .

Face masks, cosmetics, stationery and even household appliances are located on the shelves of these stores, and although for many the difference between the products of one store and another may be minimal, for buyers the main differentiator is the design, price and the variety .

It is also possible to find products that are very similar to those of recognized brands, at a more accessible price and with striking packaging. “These stores have become very attractive by offering products that are not disposable, with a design that makes them attractive to different types of consumers. In addition, the products are committed to innovation”, says Fernando Tapia, professor at the Tec de Monterrey, Toluca campus.

The academic adds that the renewal of products in short terms and the licensing of brands or characters – as in the case of Miniso with Marvel and Hello Kitty – are part of the winning bets of these chains.

“These stores are very showy , you feel like going in, I can’t contain myself,” says Astrid Rocha. “I have bought everything in both stores, toys, blankets, very scandalous socks and everything has good durability,” he says.

Roberto García, an academic from La Salle University, considers that these brands offer experience, which, added to the recommendation and the price, has made their stores achieve great success. “These stores are not about impulse buying, it’s about the experience that comes with the shopping model , which has more attractive colors and designs and the merchandise is displayed in such a way that you start to ‘chatter’,” he says.

Hema and Ale Hop, the new players

Miniso and Mumuso prepared the market for the arrival of new players, such as the stores of the Dutch company Hemma , which opened its first branch in Mexico in 2020, and the Spanish company Ale Hop , which arrived in 2021 thanks to Palacio de Hierro. .

In December of last year, Hema announced that it will accelerate its expansion to reach 2025 with 200 stores . This chain is committed to sustainable and minimalist models through its points of sale in malls , and has a catalog of 4,000 products with the expectation of expanding it to 10,000 to consolidate its offer in all categories, ranging from stationery and home to makeup, among other.

Ale Hop , who was born in 2001 in Alicante, Spain, opened the first store in Mexico inside the Parque Lindavista shopping center, north of Mexico City. This unit is also the company’s 300th.

Spanish retail arrives in Mexico with a less aggressive expansion plan than that of other companies, since in a period of up to five years goals have been set to have dozens of stores in airports and the most important cities in the country, such as Guadalajara and Monterey.

Their goal is to have 30 or 40 well-positioned stores , with a sales floor of around 200 to 300 square meters each, in which they will offer a catalog of 1,000 products available in stock. Its products, which cover the categories of electronics, toys, wellness , home, accessories and fashion, among others, originate in Asia in 80% of cases, while the remaining 20% come from Spain.

“The leadership and positioning that Miniso has in the market are additional points to those of the competition. For this reason, the competitors will have to bet on a better cost-benefit ratio and on a pricing strategy because this segment of consumers is sensitive to price”, concludes the Tec de Monterrey academic.

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