MINISO delivered second-quarter 2025 results that exceeded market expectations, achieving its first positive same-store sales growth in four quarters.

More notably, the company is accelerating its proprietary IP strategy deployment. CEO Ye Guofu explicitly stated plans to pursue dual-engine growth driven by "international IP + proprietary IP," directly benchmarking against POP MART's success in the collectible toy market.

**Strong Performance Signals Recovery Momentum**

Pre-market data Thursday showed MINISO achieved revenue of 9.393 billion yuan for the first half of 2025, up 21.1% year-over-year, with Q2 revenue reaching 4.97 billion yuan, representing 23.1% growth. Adjusted net profit increased 10.6% to 692 million yuan, while adjusted operating profit rose 8.5% to 852 million yuan.

The company's performance recovery stems primarily from improved same-store sales and advancement of its large-store strategy. Mainland China operations achieved positive same-store sales growth in the third quarter, with expectations for continued growth throughout the year. Overseas market same-store sales declines narrowed from mid-to-high single digits in Q1 to low single digits in Q2, with Europe and North America markets already delivering mid-to-high single-digit growth.

The crucial same-store sales metric showed positive changes. MINISO achieved its first positive same-store sales growth in four quarters during Q2, with the MINISO brand maintaining flat same-store sales year-over-year, while TOP TOY brand same-store sales improved to low single-digit growth.

Nomura commented that Q2 revenue of 4.97 billion yuan exceeded expectations by 3%, while quarterly operating profit of 836 million yuan and net profit of 691 million yuan surpassed forecasts by 12% and 8% respectively. The company's efforts to balance store expansion, maintaining same-store sales growth, and IP investments while stabilizing operations are beginning to pay off. Management expressed optimism about future prospects, raising full-year 2025 revenue growth guidance from the previous "no less than 22.8%" to "no less than 25%."

**Proprietary IP Strategy Benchmarks POP MART**

Ye Guofu emphasized the proprietary IP strategy during the earnings call, stating the company will pursue "international IP + proprietary IP" as a dual-track approach for parallel IP-driven development.

He directly referenced POP MART's success: "POP MART's performance is excellent, and we're very pleased to see this. Strong performance indicates two things: first, consumers are buying in, and second, the capital market is buying in. This shows the collectible toy market in China is just emerging."

Ye believes that while MINISO has established advantages in product development, marketing, and channels through international IP partnerships, it lacks proprietary IP. "With unique advantages in full-category coverage, omnichannel penetration, global expansion, and end-to-end operations, MINISO will also secure a leading position in China's IP market landscape."

MINISO began its proprietary IP deployment six months ago and has signed its first batch of nine collectible toy artists, with "Youyou Sauce" launched in June this year.

More significantly, TOP TOY acquired a 51% controlling stake in collectible toy company HiTOY Haichuang Culture for 5.1 million yuan in the first half. The company owns three core IP brands: Nommi, Honey, and MayMei, with annual sales exceeding 100 million yuan.

Through this acquisition, MINISO expanded its proprietary IP portfolio and launched the Nommi Sweet Bite series in the first half.

Following the earnings release, Nomura raised 2025-2027 revenue and earnings forecasts by 3-4% and 3-7% respectively, increasing the target price from $24.20 to $25.50 while maintaining a buy rating, implying 22% upside potential.

However, analysts noted that operating proprietary IP requires different skill sets compared to third-party IP operations, and uncertainty remains whether MINISO's proprietary IP strategy can become a sustainable sales growth driver.