What: The Asian version of dollar stores is storming the world and opening new stores in many countries at a fast pace.

Why it is important: Competing on pricing is getting impossible as this breed of discounters is able to mix the appeal of low priced items with carefully designed products proposed in a desirable environment.

The Robin Report delves into Miniso and Daiso, the new dollar-shop concepts coming directly from Asia and which are storming Europe and the US.

Miniso is a Chinese venture relatively new to retail (2013) and has opened since its arrival in the Americas in 2017 110 stores (half in the US and half in Canada). In the US, even though it is still California-centric, it is looking to have a national footprint. Its strength lies in original and localized designs (products are designed by Finnish, Danish or Spanish creators and are localized through a clever use of local IP license holders). The variety of goods is impressive, with a focus on toys, houseware and home decor, featuring many Western well known brands. Miniso also dedicates 40% of the space in store to experiences, which is a strong differentiation factor from traditional US one dollar stores.

Daiso is a Japanese company, founded in 1977, which operates 2,300 stores in 24 countries, in addition to the 3,600 stores it operates in Japan. The product offering includes thousands of skus from apparel to food to home, and is a reminiscence of Muji, but on a budget. Most of products are private label, with the original label in Japanese and a minimal translation.

Both have limited e-commerce operations.

The Robin Report sees both as a serious threat for the existing US chains, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Five Below or Family Dollar.

Do you know Miniso and Daiso?