Uniqlo brand strategy / positioning case study

BrandStruck
Uniqlo Brand Strategy Analysis
Uniqlo
ABOUT

Category:
Apparel – high street apparel; Retail – fashion stores, e-retail

Owner of the brand:
Fast Retailing Co., Ltd

Key competitors:
H&M, Zara, Gap, Levi’s, Topshop, ASOS

BRAND STRATEGY ANALYSIS
Brand essence

LifeWear – clothing designed to make everyone’s life better.

Brand values

Simplicity, highest quality, innovation.

Brand character

Casual, Japanese, for everybody, high-tech, elevated.

Dominating archetype
EVIDENCE
Comments
1

Uniqlo is the fourth largest fashion retailer in the world (after H&M, Zara and Gap). Its brand strategy is rooted in the Japanese culture and is encapsulated in the concept of “lifewear”: simple but well designed, high quality clothes for men, women and kids for everyday use, which last long and match every style („Our clothes are simple and essential yet universal, so people can freely combine them with their own unique styles, in any way they choose, every day of the year”[1]).

2

Uniqlo puts the strongest emphasis on the quality of the fabric and turning it into highly functional products. For that, it uses advanced technology, which has become a key differentiator of the brand. One of the examples is Heattech – a thin material, which keeps the body’s warmth[2]. Uniqlo CEO, Tadashi Yanai told the Telegraph: “Uniqlo is not a fashion company, it’s a technology company.”[3]

3

The main aspect differentiating Uniqlo from brands such as H&M and Zara is its business model. Uniqlo is not a fast fashion retailer, it doesn’t follow the latest trends and doesn’t offer a wide selection of fast-changing products. Instead, it focuses on a limited number of basics (e.g., jeans, T-shirts, underwear), available in many colours. Such approach gives the company a competitive advantage as it allows substantial cost efficiencies.

4

An important part of the Uniqlo business model is also its commitment to making a positive social impact. For the brand, it’s much more than just a marketing exercise. Uniqlo helps refugees and victims of disasters, collects clothes for reuse or recycling and helps local communities. The company has set up the Grameen Uniqlo brand[4], whose sole objective is to improve the standard of living in Bangladesh. It manufactures clothes, which are affordable for the poorer people in Bangladesh, shares its production and retail expertise with locals and reinvests all the profit.

5

The brand’s focus on basic everyday clothes that suit every style makes it a Regular Guy brand, while its commitment to science and technology to create the best quality fabric and functional design are the elements of the Sage archetype.

Tagline

“LifeWear Made for All”
“Simple made better”

Most important campaigns

1. “LifeWear Made For All” (2021)

2. “UNIQLO Wireless Bras – Finally Free” (2018)

3. “The Science Of Lifewear” (2016)

4. “The Science Of Lifewear – Knitwear” (2016)

 

Official brand statement:

“Our history
The first UNIQLO store opened its doors in June 1984, proving the success of the SPA manufacturer retailer model controlling the entire process from product planning, production, distribution and marketing. UNIQLO enjoyed (and continues to enjoy) superb growth by providing high quality casual wear at remarkably affordable prices for men, women and kids.

Clothing
Our clothes are simple and essential yet universal, so people can freely combine them with their own unique styles, in any way they choose, every day of the year.
Even since UNIQLOs humble beginnings in 1984, UNIQLO has continued to aspire towards excellence in quality, design and technology, and has managed to achieve as such. But even so, UNIQLO still strives onwards and upwards. Not in pursuit of perfection, but in evolution.
UNIQLO is more than just a clothing brand. But a way of thinking. A steady consciousness of constant change, diversity, and the challenging of conventions.
UNIQLO believes that everyone can benefit from simple, well-designed clothes. Because if all people can look and feel better every day, then maybe the world can be a little better too.

LifeWear
What first began as every day wear, UNIQLO has reinvented in Japan as LifeWear.
LifeWear isn’t disposable clothing, but perfect components made with quality.
We create LifeWear by evolving the ordinary, producing innovations big and small that benefit you ever day.
LifeWear. Simple made better.”[5]

“About LifeWear
LifeWear is clothing designed to make everyone’s life better. It is simple, high-quality, everyday clothing with a practical sense of beauty – ingenious in detail, thought through with life’s needs in mind, and always evolving.”[6]

Interesting facts:

When Uniqlo entered the UK market in 2001, it opened 20 stores outside London. Soon after, it had to shut all of them down due to disappointing results. The brand returned to the UK in 2004 and now operates its outlets only in London.[7]

Between 2009 and 2011, Jil Sander, German fashion designer, acted as Uniqlo Creative Director for the line called +J. Some of the +J pieces are still sold by the company in “the best of” collections.[8]

Must-reads

1. Adweek on the “LifeWear Made for All” campaign
R. Collings, “Uniqlo Unveils A New Campaign With A Familiar Message”, Adweek, May 2021,
https://www.adweek.com/commerce/uniqlo-unveils-new-campaign/ 

2. Analysis of Uniqlo’s strategy
M. Roll, “Uniqlo: The Strategy Behind The Global Japanese Fast Fashion Retail Brand”, MartinRoll, Jul 2018,
https://martinroll.com/resources/articles/strategy/uniqlo-the-strategy-behind-the-global-japanese-fast-fashion-retail-brand/

3. Adweek on Uniqlo’s first global campaign
A. Natividad, “In Its First Global Campaign, Uniqlo Ponders Why We Get Dressed Every Day”, Adweek, Aug 2017,
http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/its-first-global-campaign-uniqlo-ponders-why-we-get-dressed-every-day-172982

4. Uniqlo CEO on the company’s expansion plans
K. Finnigan, “The Plain Truth: Uniqlo Boss Tadashi Yanai Explains His Plans For World Domination”, The Telegraph, Mar 2016,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/brands/the-plain-truth-uniqlo-boss-tadashi-yanei-explains-his-plans-for/

Sources:

http://www.uniqlo.com, http://www.grameenuniqlo.com, http://www.fastretailing.com, https://www.facebook.com/uniqlo.uk/, https://www.facebook.com/uniqlo.us/, https://twitter.com/uniqlousa, https://twitter.com/uniqlo_uk, https://www.instagram.com/uniqlousa, https://www.instagram.com/uniqlo_uk, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniqlo, https://uk.pinterest.com/uniqlo/, http://uniqlouk.tumblr.com/, https://www.youtube.com/user/UNIQLOUSA, https://www.youtube.com/user/uniqloukofficial

References:
  1. http://www.uniqlo.com/eu/en/company/about_uniqlo.html
  2. http://www.uniqlo.com/uk/store/feature/uq/heattech/men/
  3. K. Finnigan, “The Plain Truth: Uniqlo Boss Tadashi Yanai Explains His Plans For World Domination”, The Telegraph, Mar 2016, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/brands/the-plain-truth-uniqlo-boss-tadashi-yanei-explains-his-plans-for/
  4. http://www.grameenuniqlo.com
  5. https://www.uniqlo.com/eu/en/company/about_uniqlo.html
  6. https://www.uniqlo.com/lifewear/us/en/
  7. K. Finnigan, “The Plain Truth: Uniqlo Boss Tadashi Yanai Explains His Plans For World Domination”, The Telegraph, Mar 2016, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/brands/the-plain-truth-uniqlo-boss-tadashi-yanei-explains-his-plans-for/
  8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jil_Sander
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