Case Study Uniqlo

UNIQLO, 66-year-old Fashion and Retail industry was established in 1949 in Japan. It is a wholly owned subsidy which was bought by Fast Retailing Co Ltd since November 2005.With its head quarters in Tokyo it has managed to expand its clothing business in fourteen countries globally.

An article from the Business Insider says that this Japanese chain has become the envy of retailers worldwide. It started in 1949 in Hiroshima as “Unique Clothing Warehouse”. The words were later joined to make “UNIQLO”.

In the late 1990, although the Japanese economy went through “The Great Recession” for almost an entire decade, Uniqlo focused on all those consumers who were cutting back on their spending to expand operations during this period.

Uniqlo

They also have established production offices in Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh City, Dhaka, Jakarta and Istanbul.

Uniqlo has 70% of its clothes manufactured in China. They plan to expand more in China in spite of the anti-Japanese protests in China.

So why does Uniqlo stand out among other retailers?
• Global pay system: All managers worldwide receive the same wage. Equality in the amount of work and pay.
• They don’t focus on chasing trends. They keep it simple and affordable for all.

II. UNIQLO: BUSINESS MODEL

• Uniqlo was the first company in Japan with an SPA (Specialty store retailer of Private label Apparel)* business model which means that they handle all stages of business right from design to production and sales.

• They have been continuously developing their products over the years. Keeping in mind the consumer needs, they manufacture goods reflecting the latest trends. This helps them reduce the store operation costs, which in turn enables them to produce goods at such affordable prices.

Source: (Fastretailing.com)

The above image explains the SPA Business Model of Uniqlo in a step-wise

They are now focusing on their expansion United States of America. They plan on expanding to other parts of the world as well.

Their business strategy so far has been very clear. Some of the points below highlight their business strategy:

• Developing products of exceptional quality:

-They have modified their business model in such a way that they take care of the entire business process, right from the planning and research till the final sales. This enables them to produce goods of exceptional quality thus enduring consumer satisfaction.
While ensuring this, they implement some important decisions:
-Consumer feedback is extremely important to them for product development. Their customer care receives many feedbacks on a daily basis and they make sure that they taken into consideration all the needs, big or small, of their consumers. For instance, the HEATTECH material got several feedbacks for the fabric to be softer, warmer and to introduce a wider range of colors.
-Moreover, the fact that they procure all their raw materials from all over the world and their suppliers provide them with all raw materials made to order for their specifications ensures that they use the best quality raw