What about consumer behaviour in India, what have been your learnings, and how is consumer behaviour in India different than other countries that you operate in?

It’s quite different. I think the Indian consumer is very confident. We do business in more than 90 countries. In some countries when customers who try to negotiate with you or make certain demands are told what they ask for is difficult to do, they are likely to stop. But in India the customer believes that you can do it. A customer once told us that the price of a certain product was high and should be reduced by at least 50%. We did not refuse, and we thought we should try. We did an analysis of the product and the supply chain. The product was being supplied from Spain. We found a guy who could do it in Vietnam, so we changed the supply chain and started taking the product from Vietnam, and reduced the price by 20%. The good thing is that here the customer is very aware. In China and Japan, it is very difficult to get feedback from the customer.

Will you be supplying from, or manufacturing, in India?

We have already made a plan to purchase products in India and export to other countries. India will be the second biggest purchase country for Miniso. We have already moved some items to India. Some makeup and textile products are exported from here. But right now, these are on a small scale, because the supply chain is not just about manufacturing, it is also about how to ship, the country’s relationships with other countries

The number (of products supplied from India) is not very big because if we need to change the manufacturing country we will have to get a certificate again. It will take some time. Secondly, right now, our partners cannot do enough numbers. For example an eye pencil which was made in Korea and Japan—we want to move it to India, and monthly we need about 20 million units, but the factory (in India) right now can make only one million. So there is a big gap. But we have patience and we continue to give them orders.

Also, India has good relationships with most countries so we can export to America, Europe, Australia and East Asia... We plan to do exports worth $2million-$3 million from India this year.

Where do you see India in Miniso’s global scheme of things?

India is the future. This future is not just about selling products. One side is we want to purchase products from here, we want to do business from here, and India has an advantage because young people here can speak English well. We hope we can hire more management [people] from India and send them to different countries, different branches.

What is your revenue target for India for this financial?

We are targeting ₹480 crore revenue this year.

Tyrone Li

Miniso eyes malls and high street for India growth