Palace Museum partners with Miniso

The Palace Museum's intellectual property (IP) unit recently collaborated with Miniso Corp, a low-cost retailer and variety store chain, to offer Chinese consumers products themed with one of the country's most valuable cultural heritages.

Miniso's new product line includes more than 100 items in ten categories including fragrances, notebooks, water bottles and mobile phone designed with colors and patterns provided by the Place Museum.

Wang Fei, director of the IP department at the museum, said the popularity of the Palace Museum comes from younger generations' passion for traditional cultural and heritage.

"Our mission is to bring the 600-year-old Palace Museum and its traditional culture closer to young people's lifestyles and to bring traditional culture alive to bond with today's consumers."

This collaboration with Miniso is a new initiative for the Palace Museum to get young consumers involved designing and producing products relevant to their daily lives.

Founded in 2013, Miniso has 3,500 stores worldwide (2,500 in China), popular for the brand's quality and affordable prices.

Wang Guangyong, director of branding at Miniso, said the introduction of IP and designers, with an investment of more than 100 million yuan each year, is part of Miniso's drive to innovate to boost sales.

About 30 percent of products created this year have been the result of collaborations like the Palace Museum line, said Wang.