MINISO has opened its first MINISO LAND store in the United States at Easton Town Center in Columbus, the company announced Thursday, bringing its large-format, theme-park-style retail concept to one of the Midwest’s busiest shopping destinations. The store officially opened on October 17 and covers approximately 15,000 square feet, making it one of the retailer’s largest locations in the country.
Unlike a conventional MINISO shop, the Columbus MINISO LAND is built around themed worlds tied to popular characters and franchises. Shoppers enter through a dedicated zone for YOYO, the company’s own character, anchored by a signature sculpture, then move through collection areas that include a Hello Kitty and Friends zone with more than 100 products and a Disney zone with more than 130 products featuring Stitch, Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse and Toy Story characters.
The store carries more than 5,500 different products across toys and collectibles, home essentials, beauty, food and beverages and other lifestyle categories. Additional collaboration lines feature ONE PIECE, Chiikawa, Snoopy and mofusand. The company said the layout uses warm wood textures, themed storefronts and character displays so visitors discover products as they move between the different worlds rather than shopping straight aisles.
MINISO LAND began in Shanghai in 2024 and has since grown to more than 100 locations across China and several overseas markets. The company describes the format as its “Super IP + Super Store” strategy, pairing licensed and in-house characters with stores designed as destinations for exploration and social interaction, not just transactions.
To mark the Columbus opening, the company ran a series of launch activities including special promotions and mascot meet-and-greets for fans. Easton Town Center, on Columbus’s northeast side, is one of the region’s premier open-air lifestyle centers and has drawn a string of first-in-market retail concepts in recent years.
The opening also extends MINISO’s rapid American expansion. The company said it now operates more than 400 stores in the United States and more than 8,300 locations in over 100 countries and regions worldwide, and it was named the fastest-growing U.S. retailer on the National Retail Federation’s 2025 Hot 25 Retailers list.
Company officials said more large-format, experience-focused stores are planned across the United States as MINISO shifts from simply adding locations to building bigger destinations. For Columbus shoppers, the Easton store is open now, with its themed zones, exclusive merchandise and interactive displays in place for the holiday shopping season ahead.
Photo: DrBob317, CC BY-SA