"If you don't play games or buy grain, you can save 50000 yuan a year", a saying has been circulating in the anime circle.
With its social functions and emotional value, the game has accumulated a large number of loyal consumer groups. As a category with high fan stickiness, "guzi" is also breaking through its boundaries. Fifty five thousand a year is still conservative, "said a consumer. She fell into the trap at the end of June this year and spent over 10000 yuan on grain for a month and a half.
The word "millet" comes from the transliteration of English "goods". Its pronunciation in Japanese is similar to that of "millet", so it is widely used by Chinese anime lovers to refer to peripheral products, including all kinds of handmade, plush, key chains, badges, cards, pendants, and signboards.
The popularity of the "millet economy" has also made related enterprises a direct beneficiary. In November, the concept stocks of "guzi economy" became hot topics in A-shares.
Miniso, which has a rich reserve of IP products, has delivered impressive performance. In the first three quarters of 2024, Miniso (09896. HK) achieved a total revenue of 12.28 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.8%; The adjusted net profit was 1.928 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.7%; The gross profit margin increased by 3.7 percentage points to 44.1%.
The 'guzi economy' is booming, with over 10000 new enterprises added
During this year's "Double 11" shopping festival, consumers experienced the joy of indulging in "eating grains" to their heart's content, and the strong demand and purchasing power demonstrated also drove the continuous expansion of the industry scale.
According to Tmall data, there are over 100000 new peripheral products on more than 1000 IPs during this year's Double 11 shopping festival, with a year-on-year growth of over 100% in IP derived peripheral products. Among them, Mihayou became the first Chaoyou brand flagship store with a turnover of more than 100 million yuan in the "Double 11" by selling Baji (badges) and other peripheries of two games, Genshin Impact and Collapse: Star Dome Railway.
According to Tianyancha data, as of November, there are more than 64000 existing "guzi economy" related enterprises, with over 10000 new related enterprises added from January to November this year alone.
The anime wind also moved the stock market. As of the close on December 4th, the stock prices of "guzi economy" concept stocks such as Miniso, Deyi Cultural and Creative (300640. SZ), and Guangbo Shares (002103. SZ) have risen by 19.85%, 15.47%, and 72.53% year to date, respectively. The sharp rise in the share prices of famous and excellent products is also a concentrated reflection of the current anime "millet economy" boom.
'Millet' is also popular offline. In May of this year, the topic of "revitalizing the old shopping mall through the economy of millet" became a hot topic on Weibo, attracting widespread attention. A large number of shops have left the Greater Shanghai City of Zhengzhou, which has been "saved" by the anime. By June 2024, nearly 30 millet stores have opened and are being renovated in the Greater Shanghai City. Shanghai Bailian ZX Chuangqu Chang, a commercial entity, also includes over 40 guzi stores.
In March, Miniso's Chiikawa themed flash mob landed at Shanghai Jing'an Joy City for the first time nationwide. The online reservation for the flash mob event opened in the first second, and the number of visits has exceeded one million. At the global brand strategy upgrade results conference on October 29th, Miniso officially announced its partnership with Harry Potter IP.
It is reported that the joint product of Miniso and Harry Potter has set multiple sales records in markets such as Hong Kong, the United States, and Indonesia after its release, and has also sparked discussions and panic buying among global "Harry Potter fans".
The emergence of the "guzi economy" has further elevated the value of the "interest consumption" theory.
The theory of "interest consumption" was first proposed by Ye Guofu, the founder of Miniso Group, in 2020. He stated that interest consumption will become a new trend leading the future direction of consumption. In the past few years, Miniso has also taken advantage of this strong trend to go to more and more countries and regions, becoming the first Chinese brand to enter Times Square in New York City and Rue des Champs - É lys é es in Paris, France.
As Generation Z becomes the main consumer force, the user base of the "guzi economy" is also becoming increasingly large.
According to CIC Insight Consulting's White Paper on China's anime Content Industry, by 2023, the number of China's pan anime users has exceeded 500 million. Among young people, "guzi" has become a new "social currency".
On the one hand, "guzi" is generally associated with specific IPs such as anime and games, and its rich cultural and emotional connotations make it a carrier for stimulating young people's interest and consumption. On the other hand, young people who are enthusiastic about "buying grain" are also enthusiastic about "sharing grain" on social platforms. The social attributes of "grain" bring it high user stickiness, which further expands the influence and market demand of the "grain economy".
According to the data of the Prospective Industry Research Institute, from 2016 to 2023, the scale of China's anime industry increased from 18.9 billion yuan to 221.9 billion yuan, with a compound growth rate of 42%; Among them, the scale of derivative industries around anime increased from 5.3 billion yuan to 102.3 billion yuan, with a compound growth rate of 53%. It is estimated that the scale of the anime industry will grow from 221.9 billion yuan to 590 billion yuan in 2023-2029, and the market for "millet economy" is broad.
However, at present, the concentration of the anime derivatives market is relatively low, there are low technical barriers for products, rampant piracy and other situations, and the market competition is relatively fierce, so the head enterprises still need to regulate and lead the market.
Mingchuang Youpin strives to become a leader in the "foxtail millet economy"
During the third quarter earnings conference call of Miniso, the term 'guzi economy' was repeatedly mentioned. It will take the anime category as the potential category in 2025 to promote the "millet economy".
With the increase of top enterprises, it can be foreseen that the potential of the "millet economy" will be further stimulated.
At present, famous, innovative and high-quality products link with multiple anime IPs in the industry to create anime zones in specific stores. In Q3 of 2024, compared with Q2, the number of stores of famous and innovative products in the anime zone increased by 300, and the sales performance of the anime category increased by 50% month on month. During this year's Halloween, the fifth personality series products launched by Miniso were sold out at a high rate of 93% on the first day of their launch at MINISO LAND Global Store in Shanghai.
In terms of famous and innovative products, it was revealed that in terms of anime IP reserve, it has reached an authorized cooperation with anime crowd's favorite hot IPs, such as Tou Riman and games. It is expected to launch the millet like peripheral products developed by itself every month next year, create differentiated creative products through solicitation, second innovation and other ways, and link with Wandai to launch more authentic products around Sunvalley. At present, Mingchuangqupin has set up a professional senior IP management team and a anime IP management R&D team composed of talents in the anime circle in Shanghai.
The IP strategy of Miniso is the key to its success in the "guzi economy" track.
Since 2016, Miniso has collaborated with over 150 well-known IP images worldwide. There are 6 out of the top 10 global IP licensees and 9 out of the top 20 IP licensees, all of which have established partnerships with Miniso. Miniso's global IP product sales have exceeded 10 billion yuan, with over 10000 new IP products added annually and a cumulative sales of over 800 million IP products in history. Ye Guofu stated that the IP consumer goods market is a trillion dollar market, and the IP strategy has great potential.
Through IP co branding, creating a anime zone, and holding theme events, famous, innovative and high-quality products have led and catered to the consumption trend of "millet economy" on the one hand, and promoted the further development of this emerging economic form by virtue of its own innovative design, supply chain and other advantages on the other hand.
Brand marketing expert Lu Shengzhen analyzed that Miniso itself shares the same characteristics as Generation Z consumers, which are "value for money and in line with my heart", and the core elements of the "guzi economy" are precisely similar to this. Entering this track with Miniso will make it easier to meet the emotional value needs of online consumers, enhance scene stickiness and brand stickiness.
At present, Miniso has clarified its multi store matrix, including MINISO LAND, themed stores, flagship stores, and regular stores, which brings consumers a more diverse consumption experience and is also conducive to stimulating store "guzi" consumption.
In the future, famous and innovative products will continue to focus on the IP strategy, focusing on the anime circle, vigorously develop the "millet economy", and move towards the goal of 50% of IP sales by 2028 and "the world's first IP design retail group".
Miniso will also leverage its own development potential to drive China's "millet" to go global. Ye Guofu stated that he will lead 100 Chinese IPs to the world in the next decade.
As of September 2024, Miniso's overseas business revenue has exceeded 4.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 41.5%. The proportion of overseas revenue contribution has increased from 32.1% last year to 37% this year. At the same time, Miniso Group saw a net increase of 859 stores, bringing the total number of stores in the group to 7420. Among them, Miniso's stores in mainland China increased by 324, overseas increased by 449, and TOP TOY increased by 86. The net increase of Miniso's overseas and TOP TOY stores exceeded that of last year.