Fast fashion has emerged in many industries especially in clothing. The biggest fast fashion brand of clothing is Zara. And Uniqlo, a brand from Japan who represents Asian, has been competing with not only Zara, but also other brands such as GAP, H&M in international field. The limited market share leads to a result that companies should continuously take innovative strategies to face the fierce competition. Finding out the methods that Uniqlo use to be acceptable and outstanding globally from a Japanese brand to a world brand is the purpose of this paper. And the focus would be put on the marketing strategy using by Uniqlo. Besides that, the role Uniqlo plays in social benefit as a multinational company would be briefly mentioned. Furthermore,
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In global expansion process, we can say that Uniqlo has made a success as a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer. Although the number of stores is much less than those of the brands above, the attitude and confidence it showed really encourages its staff. But the competition in the stage of the world is sustainable and would not be temporary. So we should make the deeper problem discussion by using the SWOT model rather than just compare the brands’ numbers of stores.
Table 2 The SWOT analysis of Uniqlo
Strength The leading products are Leisure clothes, the target customer is beyond measure, so the potential future market is huge.
Weakness Not as highly fashionable as H&M and ZARA , there is larger pressure and higher requirement in product innovation to create consumer demand
Opportunity The overseas markets for fast fashions are far from saturated
Threat Lack of overseas operation experience : the speed of overseas expansion is much lower than Zara and H&M
First, “Uniqlo has a clear vision of its brand: to provide high-quality, performance-enhanced, basic casual wear at the lowest prices. Its clothing is fashionable but not trendy. Its fabric innovation and in-house design provide exceptional functional performance. Uniqlo provides “made for all” clothing that can be worn whenever and wherever.”(Aaker, …show more content…
One of its signature innovations is HeatTech, a fabric developed in conjunction with a material science firm that turns moisture into heat and has air pockets in the fabric that retain that heat. The HeatTech fabric is thin and comfortable, and enables stylish designs very different from the standard clothing that’s made for warmth. The HeatTech innovation keeps improving over time with new fiber technology. In 2003, 1.5 million HeatTech products were sold, while in 2012, more than 130 million units were sold in 250 items. And there is AIRism, comfortable silk-like fabric that wicks away moisture, and Life wear, a blend between casual and sportswear, and more. All of these innovations are branded, which means that competitors have an uphill struggle to match this point of differentiation.” (Aaker, 2015) This truly can be regarded as an advantage, but in my mind, this kind of differentiation can also lead to larger pressure and higher requirement in product innovation to create consumer demand. Uniqlo may spend several years to develop a new product, but the good sales performance of this product on the market is not guaranteed. So Uniqlo has a higher risk in product development than Zara, H&M and
In global expansion process, we can say that Uniqlo has made a success as a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer. Although the number of stores is much less than those of the brands above, the attitude and confidence it showed really encourages its staff. But the competition in the stage of the world is sustainable and would not be temporary. So we should make the deeper problem discussion by using the SWOT model rather than just compare the brands’ numbers of stores.
Table 2 The SWOT analysis of Uniqlo
Strength The leading products are Leisure clothes, the target customer is beyond measure, so the potential future market is huge.
Weakness Not as highly fashionable as H&M and ZARA , there is larger pressure and higher requirement in product innovation to create consumer demand
Opportunity The overseas markets for fast fashions are far from saturated
Threat Lack of overseas operation experience : the speed of overseas expansion is much lower than Zara and H&M
First, “Uniqlo has a clear vision of its brand: to provide high-quality, performance-enhanced, basic casual wear at the lowest prices. Its clothing is fashionable but not trendy. Its fabric innovation and in-house design provide exceptional functional performance. Uniqlo provides “made for all” clothing that can be worn whenever and wherever.”(Aaker, …show more content…
One of its signature innovations is HeatTech, a fabric developed in conjunction with a material science firm that turns moisture into heat and has air pockets in the fabric that retain that heat. The HeatTech fabric is thin and comfortable, and enables stylish designs very different from the standard clothing that’s made for warmth. The HeatTech innovation keeps improving over time with new fiber technology. In 2003, 1.5 million HeatTech products were sold, while in 2012, more than 130 million units were sold in 250 items. And there is AIRism, comfortable silk-like fabric that wicks away moisture, and Life wear, a blend between casual and sportswear, and more. All of these innovations are branded, which means that competitors have an uphill struggle to match this point of differentiation.” (Aaker, 2015) This truly can be regarded as an advantage, but in my mind, this kind of differentiation can also lead to larger pressure and higher requirement in product innovation to create consumer demand. Uniqlo may spend several years to develop a new product, but the good sales performance of this product on the market is not guaranteed. So Uniqlo has a higher risk in product development than Zara, H&M and