Chinese company MINISO has apologised for presenting itself as a “Japanese designer brand” in its early globalisation stage. During this time, the company hired Japanese designer Miyake Junya as its chief designer, which it later admitted was “the wrong decision”.
The apology, issued on 18 August, concluded that MINSO now recognises its Chinese origins and wants to destigmatize consumers from buying products from such companies. As part of its rebranding, MINSO has redefined itself as a store for lifestyle gathering.
Since 2012, the brand has been renovating its store interiors to remove paraphernalia and designs which were previously used to present the company’s Japanese narrative. Renovation of 3,100 stores in China began in October 2021, in addition to the company’s decision to change its logo to Chinese and replace Japanese-style shopping bags in all of their stores. All of their redefining projects are set to be completed by March 2023.
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The brand has also taken back all agency accounts and reviewed every piece of content yet to be published.
MINISO has recently faced criticism as a result of mislabelling Chinese cheongsams as Japanese geishas in its Spanish branch. The company issued a public apology on its Spanish Instagram account.
“After receiving the users’ feedback, we removed the post instantly. We sincerely apologise for this misunderstanding and we will reflect on the damage this has caused to our Chinese friends and all MINISO fans,” the company said in its statement.
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The company noted that cheongsam originated in China and is well known all over the world. The brand also praised China’s long history and splendid cultural achievements. “In the future, MINISO Spain will strengthen and educate our team to ensure that we deliver the right cultural value to the public, and bring better products and consumption experience to our consumers,” MINISO Spain stated.