Miniso Apologizes for Product Translation Error

On July 25, the Spanish-language Instagram account of Chinese retail firm Miniso posted photos of products named “mystery toy boxes featuring Disney Princess dolls.” In the post, dolls wearing traditional Chinese qipao dresses were mistakenly translated as “Japanese geishas.” Many users commented that they were in fact Chinese qipaos, but the Miniso account replied only with a smiling face emoji.

On the evening of August 9, Miniso issued an apology, saying that after receiving online feedback, the headquarters immediately asked the Spanish team to delete the post, also taking punishment measures against the local social media agency. They immediately terminated their cooperative relationship with the agency.

Established in 2013, Miniso is mainly engaged in the retail of home products. In October 2020, the company were listed on the New York Stock Exchange. On July 13, 2022, it was officially listed on the main board of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, becoming a dual major listed enterprise.

According to the firm’s performance report for the third quarter of fiscal year 2022 ended March 31, 2022, total revenue reached 2.34 billion yuan ($346.3 million) during the reporting period. Revenue generated from the Chinese market totaled 1.82 billion yuan, while the figure is 520 million yuan from overseas markets. The non-IFRS adjusted net profit was 110 million yuan, with a net profit rate of 4.7%. During the reporting period, the gross profit margin increased to 30.2%. As of the end of the reporting period, the number of Miniso stores in the world reached 5,113. Among them, there are 1,916 stores overseas.

SEE ALSO: Miniso Responds to Critical Report by Blue Orca Capital

In addition, on July 26 of this year, Miniso was shorted by Blue Orca. In view of its allegation that more than 620 Miniso stores mentioned in the report are registered by executives or persons associated with the chairman of the board of directors, Miniso responded that the company adopts the “MINISO Retail Partner” model for operating in China. Under this approach, when a MINISO Retail Partner joins the company’s store network, the partner shoulders the associated capital expenditure and operating expenses. All these partners are independent of the company and are not legally, operationally or otherwise owned or controlled by the company.