Daiso Arrives in a Mexico Where “Almost Everything” Stores Keep Multiplying
- Variety stores like Daiso, Miniso and Mumuso sell “almost everything,” but they tend to seek out square footage in the same places.
Daiso's recent arrival in Mexico added just two stores to the retail market. But it also added a new competitor to a format that, spanning home goods, accessories, toys, and products that don't fit into any single category, already occupies nearly 96,000 square meters across the country.
Daiso is entering a market where chains such as Ale-Hop, Hema, Miniso, Mumuso and Yoyoso already operate. According to data from SiiLA and the companies themselves, the six variety-store chains have around 290 locations in Mexico, approximately 88% of which are inside shopping centers.
The arrival of another chain, more than additional demand for space or greater competition for consumers, is a sign of confidence in Mexico's retail market, which, according to available estimates, will continue growing over the next several years at annual rates of between 3.5% and 4.4%. In that context, variety stores themselves appear to be following that expectation. Openings announced by some of these companies for the remainder of 2026 indicate that the number of locations could increase by around 4%, after the combined store network of these brands grew by approximately 16% between 2020 and 2026, although not all moved in the same direction.
Behind that growth, however, the distribution changed considerably. Miniso went from around 182 locations in 2020 to 216 today, while Mumuso increased from 40 to 56 and Hema from two to ten. Yoyoso, by contrast, closed a large share of the roughly 25 stores it once had and shifted its expansion toward a franchise model. At the same time, Daiso and Ale-Hop entered the Mexican market with two locations each.
That market is not evenly distributed across the country either. Nearly half of the locations analyzed (46%) are concentrated in central Mexico, while the north and Bajío account for another 37%. By contrast, the south represents 13% of locations, while the east and west account for just 4% combined.
That relative concentration helps explain what new entrants mean for real estate. These chains are not building their networks across just any type of retail space, but primarily inside shopping centers and in regions where the format already has a considerable presence. Daiso's first two openings, for example, followed that pattern precisely, with locations in shopping centers in central Mexico. This is partly because of the size of those consumer markets, but the presence of other operators also gives later entrants information about where the format has found room to develop. That reference can reduce uncertainty when selecting new markets while also reinforcing a shared geography among competitors. As a result, as new brands enter and existing ones grow, competition takes place not only at the shelf, but also in deciding where to occupy the next square meters.
Daiso is only beginning to navigate that map. The company expects to close 2026 with five locations in Mexico, while other operators also have openings planned. And while two new stores hardly change a 96,000-square-meter market, new brands and the expansion of some existing ones show that the distribution of that space can still shift.
In a market where something new can always appear in the next space, it pays to keep an eye on the real estate map. Follow its evolution on SiiLA Market Analytics or write to us at contacto@siila.com.mx.
