(Yicai) Oct. 30 -- Chinese lifestyle retailer Miniso said it plans to open 100 Miniso Land shops in China and 300 offshore after solid sales at its first amusement park-style store in Shanghai.

Shanghai Miniso Land, situated on the city’s bustling Nanjing Road shopping street, had sales of nearly CNY10 million (USD1.4 million) in its trial debut month, Guangzhou-based Miniso announced yesterday.

The 2,000-square-meter store offers a unique, narrative-driven layout with immersive scenes and interactive elements over three floors that showcase Miniso’s intellectual property collaborations, including with Harry Potter, Pokémon, and a range of Disney favorites.

Miniso has developed seven store models, each tailored to different cities and commercial areas, according to Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Robin Liu. Outlets of Miniso Land will be opened in cities, themed and sub-main stores in regional-level markets, and regular shops in community-level business districts, he said.

The retailer aims to make products more engaging because today’s consumer seeks emotional value, Miniso’s founder Ye Guofu said. The firm collaborates with the owners of major IP, which resonate with consumers and can drive sales, said Ye, who is also chairman and chief executive.

But negotiations for IP owners takes time, Miniso said, noting that it took seven years of talks to launch Harry Potter-licensed products. The company's strong development team and production supply chain enable scalable, customized manufacture of IP-derived products at relatively low prices.

Last month, Miniso said it plans to expand its offline footprint by becoming the largest shareholder of Yonghui Superstores, one of China's biggest supermarket chains. Miniso will spend CNY6.3 billion (USD883 million) for a 29.4 percent stake.

Yonghui has a big market cap, but still lags behind global retail giants such as Costco Wholesale, Ye pointed out. It needs to diversify and explore potential growth areas in various formats and markets, he said, noting that the core mission is to deliver quality products and services.

Editor: Martin Kadiev