Miniso To Axe Confusing ‘Japanese Designer Brand’ Identity As It’s Not Japanese

UNIQLO, MUJI, and MINISO—one of these is not like the others.

For years, global Chinese budget store Miniso has had customers convinced that it is a “Japanese Designer Brand,” subliminally pitting itself against companies like MUJI with its “Japanese-inspired” lifestyle goods. To live up to the tagline, the company enlisted Japanese designer Miyake Junya as its chief designer.

The Guangzhou-based brand, which has over 5,000 locations worldwide, maintained this image with Japanese characters on its logo, shopping bags, and marketing.

On August 18, however, Miniso released a statement confirming that it would undergo an overhaul to “de-japanize” so as to avoid further confusion, Marketing Interactive reports. The rebrand will include a revamp of its logo and stores.

Miniso admitted on Chinese social network Weibo that in the early days of its global expansion between 2015 and 2018, it touted itself as a “Japanese designer brand”—which it said that, in hindsight, was the “wrong brand positioning.”

“We feel regret and guilt,” said Miniso’s executives, as translated by Bloomberg.

Miniso added that the transition from its identity crisis had begun back in 2019, when it started removing Japanese motifs from its branding. Its shopping bags have been free of Japanese characters  since 2020.

Recently, the chain had come under scrutiny after advertising Chinese cheongsam-wearing Disney Princess dolls in Spain as Japanese geishas. It has also been called out on TikTok for allegedly pretending to be Japanese.

As per Bloomberg, Chinese and Japanese relations have been especially touchy following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan this month.

Miniso acknowledges it is a Chinese brand, and it has promised to nod to its Chinese heritage as well as local trends moving forward. The brand also says it will punish executives who helped push the Japanese-influenced strategy during its early stages.

Renovation for all of its stores in China has been completed, and a full overhaul of its 1,900 locations abroad is scheduled to be finalized by March 2023. Further, Miniso says its Chinese headquarters will oversee all content posted by its international social media accounts in the future.

[via Today Online, Marketing Interactive, Bloomberg, images via various sources]