i was wandering around richmond centre and ended up popping into miniso. the richmond centre location is newish, it opened in october 2024 as a flagship style store for the brand.
it's basically one of those stores built around affordable, design heavy impulse buys, kind of a mix between a lifestyle shop, anime merch corner, and convenience store. the company started in china but leans heavily into a minimalist japanese inspired aesthetic, which is why the whole place feels very clean, bright, and curated instead of cluttered.
inside, there was a huge mix of stuff: makeup and beauty accessories, shelves of sanrio products, slippers, hair brushes, cutlery, water bottles, and an entire wall of plushies. there was also a selection of mofusand merch. a lot of miniso's appeal seems to come from licensed collaborations and collectible culture, plushies, blind boxes, character goods, desk accessories, little gadgets, all at prices low enough that you end up convincing yourself to grab "just one thing."
they even have a rewards program, which somehow makes the whole impulse buy cycle feel even more intentional.
the whole experience feels engineered for browsing. you go in for five minutes and somehow end up examining cat themed keychains, skincare tools, and stationery you absolutely did not need before walking in. read more