There’s another newcomer to the high street in Manchester, and this one’s got some seriously cute items at low prices.
Miniso has taken over a 2,903 sq ft unit in the Manchester Arndale, joining the hugely popular Flying Tiger as new shops spring up across the shopping centre.
The Chinese brand specialises in family lifestyle and design-led products, selling everything from handbags to homeware to cuddly toys.
Its range also includes toys and gadgets, stationery, homeware, fitness and beauty, with a philosophy of ‘simplicity, nature and good quality’.
Miniso is another place shoppers can stock up on all your Christmas stocking fillers without having to cripple yourself financially, with adorable gifts priced from £1.
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Miniso in Manchester Arndale. Credit: The Manc Group
For just a quid, you can get superhero phone cases, greetings cards, and colouring sets – and even the most expensive products in store won’t cost you much more than £30.
Miniso sells gadgets like Bluetooth headphones, wireless speakers and electronic cleansing face brushes for way less than most other places.
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There is an ENTIRE WALL of plushies – soft pale piglets, squishy Minions, cute plush penguins and even cuddly fried chicken.
Miniso in Manchester Arndale. Credit: The Manc GroupMiniso in Manchester Arndale. Credit: The Manc GroupMiniso in Manchester Arndale. Credit: The Manc GroupThe plushy wall in Miniso
You can also grab a ‘mystery box’ between £2.50 and £4.
In the accessories section, there are handbags scattered with pink love hearts, purses with whiskers and noses, as well as more simple backpacks and totes.
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Water bottles, travel coffee mugs, makeup brushes and tools, yoga mats, gaming gadgets like keyboards and headphones (with cat ears on, naturally) – Miniso’s got it all.
Popular Japaneses snacks like Hello Panda (a biscuit with different flavoured fillings) and Yan Yan (biscuit sticks with different flavour dips) are all sold here too.
Miniso in Manchester Arndale. Credit: The Manc GroupMiniso in Manchester Arndale. Credit: The Manc GroupMiniso in Manchester Arndale. Credit: The Manc Group
Saad Usman, COO at MINISO UK, said: “We’re delighted to announce the launch of our store at Manchester Arndale. We believe that the opening of this store, our first in the North West, is the perfect place for us to continue our expansion in the UK.
“At MINISO UK, we’re committed to getting the retail industry back on its feet, demonstrated not only by the investment into our fantastic new store, but also the creation of 10-15 new jobs in the local market.
“With innovative and exciting products that are high-quality and great value, we look forward to welcoming customers of all ages through our doors on opening day and beyond.”
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Bubble CiTea is also opening in the Arndale, selling traditional Taiwanese bubble tea with flavours including Mango Fruit Tea with Rainbow Bubbles and Taro Milk Tea with Crystal Bubbles.
Colin Flinn, spokesperson for Manchester Arndale, said: “We are delighted that Bubble CiTea and MINISO have selected Manchester Arndale as their first locations in the city, and we’re looking forward to welcoming them alongside other recent arrivals such as Gilly Hicks, Clarks, and Jamaica Blue.
“It’s great to see the centre continually attracting both fantastic home-grown brands like Bubble CiTea and big-name international retailers such as MINISO.
“With such exciting leasing activity taking place it is clear retailers have confidence in the long-term future of the centre and its position as a leading retail destination.
“With Manchester Arndale now almost fully let, it will continue to attract millions of visitors from across the North West and beyond, with its dynamic and constantly improving line up of exciting retail, F&B and leisure offers.”
The shop where people queue OVERNIGHT for viral toys is coming to Trafford Centre
Thomas Melia
There’s a viral shop in Manchester where people queue for hours to get their hands on viral toys, and it’s now making its way to the Trafford Centre.
After already taking Manchester by storm when it initially opened back in March this year, viral toy shop Pop Mart now has its sights set on another new spot in one of the North West’s most iconic and popular shopping malls.
Known for stocking all the latest viral collectable crazes, Pop Mart is set to open its second Manchester site at none other than the Trafford Centre (TC) and will definitely bring in the same queues as its Market Street predecessor.
The Chinese toy and collectable shop has become in high demand for stocking just one certain toy character: Labubu
This cheeky toy character is quite a marmite topic for some, with many finding the plush toys to be cute and cuddly, while others deem Labubu ‘monsters’ to be a bit creepy and off-putting.
Are we pulling from an internal office debate? Maybe…
Regardless, Labubu are widely recognisable around the world, famed for their bunny-like ears and big, wide eyes; soft, shiny fur and, most notably, a large smile with their teeth on display.
It seems everyone is after one of these Labubu character toys, with Mancs making their commute to work through the city centre, startled by the sheer length of the queues at Pop Mart.
There’s a huge amount of Labubu characters to collect.Labubu has blown up online and will now be stocked across two Pop Mart locations across Greater Manchester.Credit: Pop Mart
One social media user even commented, “I went past on the tram at 7.30 this morning and there were half a dozen people in the queue already!”
Trends may come and go, but it seems this latest viral craze is here to stay as it’s now having a second resurgence thanks to lots of celebrity endorsements, including Love Island star Olivia Attwood.
We’re sure the Trafford Centre venue will be just as healthily stocked.
At present, there’s no official opening date for Pop Mart’s Trafford Centre store besides the ‘Coming Soon’ signage outside the shop front, but we’re sure it won’t be too long before you can get your next Labubu fix – we wouldn’t be surprised to see even more Greater Manchester locations follow.
Manchester United to wear special one-off shirt for important awareness campaign
Danny Jones
Just to pre-empt any Manchester United fans fearing they’re still in total delirium the next time they see that iconic red shirt, we can confirm it isn’t just your rose-tinted glasses deceiving you – the club will be wearing a special one-off shirt with a notable difference very soon.
All eyes may now be on Wednesday, 21 May but this limited edition kit has already caught the eye of many supporters for one very obvious reason.
In case you haven’t seen it for yourselves already, Man United have confirmed that both the men’s and women’s squads will be will be wearing a slight variation on their home shirt for their next two matches as part of a special campaign for an important charitable cause.
Joining forces with their usual primary shirt sponsors Snapdragon and global health campaigners Product RED, this one-off alternative strip will be unveiled on the pitch this week.
Product Red, or simply (RED) as it will read on the jersey itself, is a worldwide charity that’s been working to fight global health crises since 2006.
(RED)’s key aim is to end the AIDS epidemic and related injustices by raising money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
The organisation officially partnered with the club and Snapdragon back in January in an effort to help drive awareness and generate further backing for their work – it just so happens that teaming up with one the planet’s biggest brands and one synomyous with that colour made for the perfect collaboration.
With that in mind, putting together a one-off Man United kit with (RED) slap bang in the middle as is close to a commercial/charitable tap-in as you’re probably ever going to get.
Set to be debuted by Manchester United Women in their WSL fixutre against Arsenal this Saturday, 10 May and then again by Ruben Amorim’s side in the Premier League the following day (Sun, 11 May); plus, a select few limited edition replicas shirts will be made available for fans to purchase.
Be first in the know, Reds 👀
Get notified when our limited-edition @RED collection drops ⤵️#MUFC || @Snapdragon
It goes without saying that given the nature of the front-of-shirt sponsor swap, these will no doubt become somewhat of a special item among kit collectors from the off.
More importantly, however, the funds raised through selling these one-off Man United shirts will provide much-needed income for the non-profit and their crucial efforts.
The unveiling of the comes not long after the bedlam that ensued inside Old Trafford during the second leg against Athletic Club, in which United booked their return trip back to Bilbao for the Europa League final, leaving plenty of fans of seeing nothing but the colour red ever since.
MUWFC also sealed their spot in the Women’s Champions League next season to with an important point in the Manchester Derby this past weekend, confirming a finish above Man City this year.
Safe to say it’s been a good few days to be a (RED).