Avast, a new lifestyle concept store sporting Japanese vibes has landed in Singapore: Miniso.
Two Miniso stores opened its doors simultaneously last Saturday at Plaza Singapura Mall and Harbourfront Centre. The stores were launched alongside Japanese ceremonies including Taiko drumming performances and the Kagami Biraki ceremony, where sake barrels were broken to mark the occasion. In attendance were co-founder and chief designer Miyake Jyunya as well as co-founder and President Ye Guo Fu.
Miniso sells a variety of “Japanese-designed products”, including home necessities, health and beauty products, fashion accessories, electronics and other knick knacks that are never priced above $40.
Despite having an aesthetic that would remind you of Japanese brands Uniqlo, Muji and Daiso, Miniso is rumoured online to actually be a Chinese knockoff of the brands. Hong Kong’s Apple Daily called Miniso a “dubious company” while many others have pointed out how a lot of facts don’t really align.
But hey, if the products are affordable and well-made enough, we don’t really care what Miniso wants to portray themselves as. Their website does need a crazy amount of copywriting fixes though — they’re really atrocious.
