On a Tuesday in May 2026, MINISO opened its first Swiss store in Bern's Westside Mall, extending a European retail journey that has quietly redefined what a shop can be. Rather than selling objects, the brand sells belonging — to fandoms, to characters, to the particular joy of discovering something familiar in an unexpected place. Switzerland, with its affluent consumers and strong retail culture, was not a coincidence but a considered destination, and Bern is positioned as a beginning rather than an arrival.
MINISO Opens First Swiss Store in Bern with IP-Driven Retail Strategy
Characters and collectibles matter more than the products themselves
Mark
Why does MINISO need to open a physical store when so much retail has moved online?
Mimi
Because what MINISO is really selling isn't the products—it's the experience of being surrounded by characters and collectibles you care about. A blind box is more satisfying when you open it in a space designed around the thing inside it.
Mark
The store has over 1,000 products. How does that not feel overwhelming?
Mimi
It's organized around IP zones. You're not shopping a general store; you're moving through different worlds. Star Wars over here, Sanrio over there. It makes the scale feel intentional rather than chaotic.
Mark
What's the significance of YOYO, the proprietary character?
Mimi
It's MINISO's way of not being entirely dependent on licensed franchises. YOYO has already proven it can generate demand and social media conversation on its own. That's leverage—it means MINISO owns part of the story, not just rents it.
Mark
Why Bern specifically, and why now?
Mimi
Bern is a commercial hub that draws from surrounding cities. It's a test market for Switzerland, which is wealthy and has strong retail culture. And timing matters—MINISO has already proven the model works in 246 European locations. They're not experimenting anymore; they're scaling.
Mark
What happens after the opening-day DJ and character parade?
Mimi
That's the real test. The store needs to stay interesting. MINISO has already said they'll rotate in new IPs and concepts. The photobooth won't be there forever. The goal is to make people come back because something new is always happening.
El Pulso
- MINISO's Bern flagship arrives with over 1,000 products and 180+ licensed franchises, turning a mall storefront into a curated universe of pop culture.
- The opening-day spectacle — character parades, live DJs, exclusive deals, and a YOYO photobooth — signals that the brand is competing for attention as much as wallet share.
- Proprietary character YOYO is being pushed hard alongside Star Wars, Disney, and Harry Potter, testing whether MINISO can build its own cultural gravity rather than borrowing it entirely.
- With 246 European stores already open by end of 2025, including flagship locations on Oxford Street and the Champs-Élysées, Switzerland is the next logical premium market to absorb.
- The company has signaled further Swiss expansion, new IP partnerships, and evolving retail concepts — framing Bern not as a milestone, but as a foothold.
On a Tuesday in May 2026, MINISO opened its first Swiss store in Bern's Westside Mall, extending a European retail journey that has quietly redefined what a shop can be. Rather than selling objects, the brand sells belonging — to fandoms, to characters, to the particular joy of discovering something familiar in an unexpected place. Switzerland, with its affluent consumers and strong retail culture, was not a coincidence but a considered destination, and Bern is positioned as a beginning rather than an arrival.
On a Tuesday in May, MINISO opened its first Swiss store inside Bern's Westside Mall — a 2,700-square-foot space deliberately positioned to catch young shoppers, families, and visitors drawn from nearby cities. The location was no accident. It is exactly where a brand goes when it wants to be discovered.
The store carries more than 1,000 products, but the real logic of the space is built around intellectual property. Licensed zones dedicated to Star Wars, Disney, Sanrio, Stitch, and Harry Potter are designed to feel like distinct worlds rather than retail sections — each one an invitation to linger rather than simply browse. Blind boxes and vinyl plush toys generate the kind of social media moments that extend a store's reach far beyond its walls.
Alongside its global franchise partnerships, MINISO is also cultivating its own characters. YOYO — a proprietary creation recognizable by its tilted-head design — received a dedicated zone and an opening-day photobooth, transforming the store into a destination rather than a transaction. New YOYO product lines, including the Tilted Head Collection and the Cupid Ring Series, were introduced at the Swiss launch.
The opening was staged as an event: a character parade, live DJs, and exclusive promotions made it feel worth attending, worth photographing, worth remembering. That experiential ambition is central to MINISO's broader European strategy, which had already produced 246 store openings by end of 2025 — including locations on Oxford Street and the Champs-Élysées. Switzerland, known for affluent consumers and a strong retail culture, was the obvious next step. The company has already signaled plans for additional Swiss locations, new licensed properties, and evolving retail concepts, making clear that Bern is not the destination — it is the beginning.
On a Tuesday in May, MINISO opened its doors in Bern for the first time, planting its flag in Switzerland with a store designed around the same principle that has carried it across Europe: characters and collectibles matter more than the products themselves. The 2,700-square-foot space sits inside Westside Mall, a commercial hub that draws young shoppers, families, and visitors from neighboring cities like Fribourg and Lausanne. It is, in other words, exactly the kind of location a brand chooses when it wants to be found.
Inside, the store holds more than 1,000 individual products spread across categories that feel deliberately chosen to appeal to different kinds of collectors and everyday consumers alike. There are vinyl plush toys and blind boxes—the kind of products that generate social media moments. There are keychains, drinkware, bags, and beauty items. But the real architecture of the space is built around intellectual property. MINISO has licensed more than 180 entertainment franchises globally, and the Bern store showcases many of them: Star Wars dominates the opening-day display, while dedicated zones celebrate Disney, Stitch, Sanrio, and Harry Potter. Each section is designed to feel like stepping into a different world, with character-inspired displays and visual installations meant to make shopping feel less like commerce and more like exploration.
Alongside these licensed properties, MINISO is also pushing its own characters. YOYO, a proprietary creation with a distinctive tilted-head design, has already generated significant consumer interest across multiple markets and considerable chatter on social platforms. The Bern store features a dedicated YOYO zone and, on opening day, a YOYO photobooth—the kind of installation that turns a retail space into a destination rather than a transaction point. The company introduced several YOYO product lines at the Swiss launch, including the Tilted Head Collection and the Cupid Ring Series.
The opening itself was treated as an event. MINISO organized a character parade featuring PENPEN, brought in live DJs, and offered exclusive promotions for opening-day shoppers. The goal was clear: make this feel like something worth showing up for, worth talking about, worth remembering as more than just another store opening.
This entry into Switzerland represents a deliberate step in MINISO's European strategy. By the end of 2025, the company had opened 246 stores across Europe, with locations on Oxford Street in London and the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Switzerland, with its reputation for affluent consumers and strong retail culture, was an obvious next market. The Bern location is positioned as the beginning of a deeper Swiss presence, not the culmination of one. The company has already signaled plans to bring additional licensed properties to the market, develop more original content, and introduce new retail concepts designed to keep the experience fresh and worth revisiting. For MINISO, the strategy is not to sell products—it is to create spaces where people want to spend time, and to make those spaces feel different each time they visit.
Citas Notables
MINISO aims to deliver a more dynamic and engaging retail experience for local consumers through an evolving mix of products and in-store activations— MINISO company statement
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