Chinese lifestyle retailer MINISO has decided to spin off its Top Toy collectibles brand into a separate entity by pursuing a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. 

Top Toy is to remain a subsidiary of MINISO following the listing, but will operate as an independent brand and retailer to attract more investors from the toy and collectibles space. Singapore-based investment firm Temasek Holdings valued the business at US$1.3 billion in August. UBS, JPMorgan and CLSA are supervising the IPO.

MINISO launched Top Toy in 2020, beginning with just nine storefronts across China. The business has since expanded to encompass 293 locations as of June, including the first international one, which launched in Tokyo last month. 

The brand produces more than 6,000 exclusive SKUs, such as licensed blind boxes, building block sets and figures. To date, Top Toy has inked deals with more than 50 licensors, including Disney (Lilo & Stitch, Winnie the Pooh) Warner Bros. Discovery (DC, The Powerpuff Girls, Harry Potter) and Sanrio (Hello Kitty & Friends). 

Top Toy’s IPO follows the explosive growth of its main competitor Pop Mart this year, thanks largely to the Labubu collectibles craze. Pop Mart is on track to generate a whopping US$4 billion in revenue by the end of the year, with H1 rearnings already up more than 204% from the same period last year, according to the company’s latest financial report.