Temasek has invested in Ye Guofu.
Yesterday (August 21st), Miniso rarely announced a financing news -
Its trendy toy brand TOP TOY received strategic financing led by Temasek, with a post - investment valuation of approximately HK$10 billion.
"Thanks to the trust and support of the Temasek team. They bravely invested in TOP TOY at a time when the situation was not so clear at the end of last year. Facts have proven that their vision is very unique. TOP TOY will join hands with the world's top investment institutions to enter the global trendy toy market worth hundreds of billions." TOP TOY founder Sun Yuanwen shared on his WeChat Moments.
This is the new interest - consumption layout crafted by Ye Guofu after Miniso's IPO in 2020. In the second quarter of this year, TOP TOY's revenue reached 400 million yuan, and currently, the total number of stores has reached 293. Now, Miniso is evaluating the possibility of spinning off and listing TOP TOY. This means that another IPO in the trendy toy industry is coming.
This morning, Miniso's stock price soared by more than 20%, and its market value skyrocketed by HK$10 billion to HK$57 billion.
On the other hand, Pop Mart has just achieved its best performance ever. Its stock price has continuously refreshed historical records, and its latest market value has exceeded HK$420 billion. The IP trendy toy business, which was once hard to understand, is now incredibly popular.
Temasek Leads the Investment, TOP TOY Valued at HK$10 Billion
Back in October 2020, Miniso knocked on the IPO door of the New York Stock Exchange, and Ye Guofu from Shiyan, Hubei, realized his dream of ringing the listing bell.
Two months later, Miniso launched a new brand, TOP TOY. Positioned as a trendy toy collection store, TOP TOY focuses on the new generation of consumers. By the end of last year, it had more than ten thousand SKUs, covering major trendy toy categories such as figurines, 3D building blocks, vinyl plush toys, and other trendy toys.
Although incubated and launched into the market by Miniso, the TOP TOY brand operates independently and opened its first flagship store in Guangzhou on December 18, 2020. One week before that, Pop Mart had just listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange through an IPO, and the trendy toy track was still relatively niche at that time.
After that, TOP TOY started a fierce expansion. Its stores have spread across cities such as Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Xi'an. As of the first half of this year, it already has 293 stores, with a net increase of 98 stores compared to the same period last year. Among them, 38 are directly - operated stores, 250 are stores under the Miniso partner model, and there are 5 agency stores.
The growth in the number of stores has directly promoted the increase in brand revenue. In the second quarter of this year, TOP TOY's revenue increased by 87.0% year - on - year, reaching 400 million yuan; in the first half of 2025, the brand's revenue increased by 73.0% to 740 million yuan, becoming a new growth point for Miniso. According to the financial report, TOP TOY's brand GMV is approximately 1.05 billion yuan.
For trendy toy companies, going global is a must - fight territory. TOP TOY also started going abroad last year, and its stores have opened in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In March this year, it officially launched its global strategy, and the plan for the next five years has emerged - in the next 5 years, 10 billion yuan will be used to support TOP TOY's overseas expansion, aiming to cover the core business districts of 100 countries around the world, open more than 1,000 stores, and achieve an overseas sales ratio of more than 50%.
Born global, TOP TOY rarely raised funds and introduced a strategic investor - Temasek, a Singaporean state - owned investment institution.
"TOP TOY recently completed a strategic financing led by Temasek, with a post - investment valuation of approximately HK$10 billion, which shows the market's recognition of TOP TOY in the trendy toy industry." In Miniso's latest financial report announcement, Ye Guofu, the chairman of the board and CEO of the group, announced.
In June this year, Miniso announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that the company was conducting a preliminary assessment of the potential spin - off and listing of its trendy toy business operated under the TOP TOY brand. As early as 2022, Ye Guofu had revealed that "he hopes to make TOP TOY list independently within 3 years." In other words, TOP TOY may ring the listing bell in Hong Kong through an IPO.
Ye Guofu's Business Empire
Ye Guofu has been very busy in the past two years.
Born in Shiyan, Hubei in 1977, Ye Guofu went south to work in Guangdong at an early age and had several business ventures during that time. The turning point came in 2013. He started with a 100 - square - meter jewelry store and worked hard all the way to build Miniso, which now has more than 7,600 stores globally. His entrepreneurial journey is very inspiring.
In December 2020, Ye Guofu led Miniso to ring the listing bell on the New York Stock Exchange. Two years later, it returned to Hong Kong for a secondary listing. Currently, its latest market value exceeds HK$57 billion.
During this period, Ye Guofu proposed a new concept of "interest - based consumption" - consumers not only look at the functions of products but also value the emotional and psychological value that the products bring to them. He believes that more and more young people are willing to pay for joy and inner satisfaction. Subsequently, the wave of interest - based consumption has swept the world.
Under such a concept, Miniso has continuously upgraded its scene innovation and business logic. The brand positioning of "global IP co - branded collection store" has emerged, and a six - layer store matrix including MINISO LAND, MINISO SPACE, MINISO FRIENDS, flagship stores, regular stores, and pop - up stores has been constructed. The model of super IP + super store has become deeply rooted in people's hearts and is also very eye - catching in the overseas market.
This is a Chinese brand that is rapidly going global. As Ye Guofu said, Miniso aims to fully explore the potential of IP, not only having influence in China but also globally. By deepening cooperation with global top IPs to ensure the sustainability and stable growth of overall operations, and at the same time, building a driving force for sustainable growth that is differentiated, highly explosive, and replicable through its own IPs.
As a retail entrepreneur with more than 20 years of front - line experience, Ye Guofu is also involved in businesses other than IP. In September last year, Miniso acquired 29.4% of the shares of Yonghui Superstores for 6.3 billion yuan, becoming Yonghui's largest shareholder.
At this time, Yonghui Superstores was undergoing a vigorous reform - accepting the adjustment and improvement from Fat Donglai, the "ceiling" of the supermarket industry. Ye Guofu was deeply impressed after investigating the first store adjusted by Fat Donglai in Henan for Yonghui. The sales of the store soared after the adjustment. This is also one of the reasons why he decided to invest in Yonghui Superstores. He believes that the Fat Donglai model is the only way out for Chinese supermarkets. "I've traveled all over the world and found that the best retail model, even better than Costco and Sam's Club, is actually in China, which is the Fat Donglai model."
"The Chinese offline supermarket is facing a once - in - 20 - year structural opportunity." After aggressively buying Yonghui Superstores, which was in a precarious situation, Ye Guofu emphasized that he does not compete for control but only hopes for a strong - to - strong alliance and resource complementation. This is undoubtedly a landmark merger and acquisition in the retail industry and is also regarded as a bold bet by Ye Guofu.
Now, at the age of 48, Ye Guofu already owns two listed companies, Miniso and Yonghui Superstores. If TOP TOY successfully lists in the future, it will be another piece in his IPO portfolio.
The Hottest Business This Year
The trendy toy industry is undoubtedly the hottest track this year.
The hottest one is Pop Mart. As the first trendy toy company to list, Pop Mart went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as early as 2020 but then experienced a long - term trough period. Its stock price once dropped to HK$9.4. The turning point came in 2024 - the domestic consumer market recovered, and at the same time, its overseas business exploded. Pop Mart's revenue increased significantly, and its stock price began to soar.
The soaring trend continues. This year, with the popularity of LABUBU, Pop Mart's stock price has far outperformed others, creating a dazzling scene in the Hong Kong stock market. On August 20th, Pop Mart announced its best performance since its establishment - in the first half of 2025, its revenue reached 13.88 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 204.4%; the net profit attributable to the parent company was 4.574 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 396.5%.
Founder Wang Ning said at the earnings conference that the company expects its annual revenue to be no less than 30 billion yuan. He also revealed that a mini - version of LABUBU will be launched this week, which is believed to become a super hit.
Stimulated by the news of the significant increase in the interim results, Pop Mart's stock price soared, and the latest price has reached HK$319 per share, with a market value exceeding HK$420 billion. So far, Pop Mart's stock price has increased by more than 250% this year. Since hitting the bottom in November 2022, it has soared by more than 32 times, becoming the hottest stock in the new - consumption sector.
With the popularity of the trendy toy market, the outside world also compares TOP TOY with Pop Mart.
However, TOP TOY founder Sun Yuanwen emphasized that they do not regard Pop Mart as a competitor. The two companies are in different situations - Pop Mart focuses on its own IPs, while TOP TOY chooses to do secondary creations of major IPs.
Sun Yuanwen believes that in the past few years, the development of the trendy toy industry is a typical example of a new category emerging and moving from niche to mainstream. "China is a large and deep - enough market, and there are still many people who have not 'entered the circle'. In addition, including overseas and the global market, the situation needs to be reshuffled. The trendy attribute will spread all over the world, so we think the opportunity is very big."
As he said, in an environment full of cultural confidence and interest - based consumption, the IP business is quietly booming. In January this year, relying on popular IPs such as "Bruks" and "Ultraman", the Chinese building - block character toy brand "Bruks" rang the listing bell on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming one of the most attractive Hong Kong IPOs this year - it received 6,000 - fold subscriptions during the offering process, and the international placement part received about 39 - fold subscriptions.
The "Pop Mart of the card industry" is also going to list. Relying on globally well - known IPs such as Ultraman, Naruto, Douluo Dalu, and My Little Pony, the trading - card model of Card Game has become popular among the new generation of consumers, and it achieved revenue of tens of billions in 2024. The toy brand 52TOYS, which holds more than a hundred IPs, submitted its prospectus for listing in Hong Kong in June this year, and the copper - based cultural and creative brand "Tongshifu", which is based on traditional Chinese themes, is also sprinting for a Hong Kong IPO. Everywhere you look, trendy toy IPOs are queuing up to ring the listing bell.
A consensus has gradually formed in the venture - capital circle - whoever can capture the hearts of Generation Z can win the future. In the latest development, Hillhouse Capital, Gao Rong Capital, and Cathay Capital jointly invested in the cultural and creative brand "ShiningSoul", which was founded just over a year ago. The company was jointly founded by Yao Shuobin, the chairman of Yaoji Technology, and Sheng Chuan, a veteran in the card industry, also betting on IP culture.
Different eras will surely give birth to different companies. A battle for the trendy toy market worth hundreds of billions has begun.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Investment World" (ID: pedaily2012), author: Zhou Jiali, published by 36Kr with authorization.