Uniqlo: Breaking Into the U.S.

As some of you know, Uniqlo is a clothing company based out of Japan that offers fashion basics.  In 2006, they opened their flagship store in New York City and just within the past few weeks, Uniqlo has also opened another store in San Francisco.  It appears as though the company is facing strategic issues with it's recent plan to branch out in the United States.

After researching the company and looking into their strategies, I think their biggest problem thus far is creating awareness for the brand in the U.S.  Many people outside of New York and California don't know much about Uniqlo.  New York and California are not only the two states with the only Uniqlo stores in the U.S. but they are both home to some of the most fashion-forward cities in the world.  I've asked around and most people said they have never heard of it.  So how does a Japanese company extend their brand into the U.S.while creating awareness?

There are a few obstacles that they have to overcome.  For one, they are a Japanese company and as most know, Japanese fashion and culture are very different from the United States.  How does Uniqlo communicates their values to a foreign culture?

I think their first move is to change their message or tagline.  Uniqlo's current tagline is "Made for all".  I find a few problems with that.  First, everyone has a different style and there is no one style or brand of clothing that every single person likes.  I think that is a universal concept and there won't ever be a style that everyone wears.  Clothing is a form of expression and having a clothing made for everyone takes away from that idea.  Secondly, in an article I read about Uniqlo, it's founder kept mentioning Apple.  The founder really admired Apple and the idea of having a product that was universal for everyone; however, you cannot bring that concept into fashion.  Everyone cannot be their target audience.

Uniqlo needs to narrow down their target consumer.  Perhaps targeting people who are still looking to be trendy and fashion-forward.  They should target their brand towards young adults, people who want to be fashionable within a budget.

Uniqlo is known for their fashion basics at affordable prices, from my understanding.  A better way to send that message across may be using a tagline like, "your everyday fashion" or "basic is fashion" or "fashion that fits you" or "made for everyday".

As far as creating awareness, I think Uniqlo should focus on the success of the stores in the United States and continue to slowly branch out to other cities.  They should change their message and continue with their strategy of opening popup stores in other cities to create buzz and awareness.  However, I do think an important strategic move is to change their message to something people can connect with better here in the United States.

http://www.uniqlo.com/us/