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Miniso was founded in 2013 by Chinese entrepreneur Ye Guofu. Miniso's first store opened in China in 2013. The company claims that Japanese designer Miyake Junya co-founded Miniso, although local media reports in China and Japan have questioned Junya's existence. The company initially claimed to be a famous Japanese brand, despite operating in Mainland China under Chinese company Aiyaya with no outlets in Japan, Miniso has since expanded outside of China and opened over a thousand stores worldwide.In January 2017, Miniso announced that they were seeking to enter the North Korean market, opening their first store in Pyongyang four months later. According to The Economist, the store was popular among the country's wealthy but only accepted foreign currency, including the U.S. Dollar, Chinese Yuan, and Euro as payment. Soon after opening, the company's Japanese branch came under pressure for violating United Nations Security Council Resolution 2321 prohibiting trade with North Korea, distanced themselves from the move, and blamed the Chinese offices for the decision. As a result of the controversy, Miniso promised not to ship any more products to North Korea and the Pyongyang store was rebranded as "Evolution".In August 2022 Miniso apologized for "wrong brand positioning and marketing" and said it would "de-Japanize" by March 2023.
