Japanese retailer Miniso More is investing more than $5-million (about R67-million) in South Africa as it opens stores in the country, one of the first foreign retail brands in several years to do so. "South Africa is an important market in Africa and plays an almost dominant role both economically and politically in Africa; how can we ignore such a critical market of Africa?" asked Paul Zhong, business development manager for Miniso South Africa. Miniso is present in 48 countries, but has been criticised for being a Chinese retailer that markets itself as Japanese. Miniso's name is derived from "mini", after Japanese minimarts. Red was chosen as the brand's primary colour because this is considered auspicious in Asia. Its marketing strategy has been compared to Japanese retailers such as Muji and Uniqlo, with similarities in store aesthetics, brand design and inventory. AllianceBernstein, a global asset management company, said Miniso's market strategy was a success because it fill...
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