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The United Nations of Uniqlo

economist.com

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Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#31

Post by jointpdf »

Random tip: Uniqlo is an usual but excellent source for inexpensive hiking/backpacking/lightweight travel clothes. In particular: the UL down jackets/parkas (~9.5oz in size M), HeatTech Extra Warm baselayers, Airism underwear, wind jacket, and socks/gloves. You see a ton of this stuff out on any long distance trail (it’s high quality enough to last an entire thru-hike and beyond).

Once you put on the HeatTech extra warm leggings, you’ll understand why superheroes wear tights—they’re the bomb.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#32

Post by arethuza »

gberger wrote: post #17
bruceb wrote: post #6

What H&M had, Zara somewhat still has, but Uniqlo doesnt have is the must buy or might not see it again. Uniqlo does a good business selling decent quality clothes at a decent price that are modern classics.

> What H&M had, Zara somewhat still has, but Uniqlo doesnt have is the must buy or might not see it again. And this is why I shop at Uniqlo, not at H&M or Zara. I like to ensure that my favourite basics will always be available for repurchase 2+ years after the original purchase, so I can replace a worn item.

I wish all clothes would come with a machine readable label that takes you directly to a page to buy exact replacements or duplicates.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#33

Post by lhorie »

victor106 wrote: post #8

Love the clothes Hate the work culture. I have a few friends who work for Uniqlo on the e-commerce team in the US. They all tell me that the work culture is horrible. It’s very Japanese. - Long unproductive hours gets your bosses appreciation. - Very sexist and male dominated. - They hate working remote even when it was absolutely necessary for the employee. - No respect for maternity related issues. Any company that…

This seems to be widespread among japanese companies. My dad worked for a large Japanese multinational and on a number of occasions when japanese execs flew in, he would have to set them straight when they tried to engage in employee harassment, unruly behavior in restaurants, etc...

...and that's coming from a reputable, well-off company. In Japan, they have a term called "black company"[1] that is essentially abusive sweatshops, but for office work. There's literally genres of manga that start off w/ the premise of people dying of overwork at these kinds of places.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_company_(Japanese_term)

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#34

Post by werber »

tjr225 wrote: post #19
wastedhours wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before the lockdown and WFH, I'd say about half my work-casual wardrobe ended up being Uniqlo. Very good quality, good design, and as you say, there's nothing obnoxious about their branding. If they had a similar free delivery option as Asos Premium, would probably use them for pretty much everything. Though I don't fully understand their ridiculously long trousers. Edit: as per responses, make use of their alteratio…

> Though I don't fully understand their ridiculously long trousers. I don’t have any length issues with their pants due to my height but perhaps they are intended to be hemmed?

In store in the US they hem for free as long as its not clearance (then its 5 bucks)

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#35

Post by neom »

Due to the Japan boycott, Uniqlo and Muji here in Korea are ghost towns, I don't know why they bother putting them in this market. it's pretty uncommon to see them busy. There is a huge Uniqlo next to my house and I was literally the only one in it yesterday.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#36

Post by puranjay »

Uniqlo launched here in India last year and has quickly become my favorite brand. I appreciate their no-nonsense marketing. I like that they don't try to sell me an 'identity', but utility - their product descriptions focus on product benefits, not some copywriter's exaggerated idea of the self (looking at you, Nike).

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#37

Post by Andrex »

neom wrote: post #35

Due to the Japan boycott, Uniqlo and Muji here in Korea are ghost towns, I don't know why they bother putting them in this market. it's pretty uncommon to see them busy. There is a huge Uniqlo next to my house and I was literally the only one in it yesterday.

Could you provide more information on this boycott? I'm not sure I've heard of it before now.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#38

Post by mwexler »

This article and comments would read the same in the 80s about Benetton and 90s about the Gap. By being vague about identity, they got extra runway but then got greedy and flamed out. Let's hope uniqlo can manage to escape the patterns of history.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#40

Post by neom »

Andrex wrote: post #37
neom wrote: post #35

Due to the Japan boycott, Uniqlo and Muji here in Korea are ghost towns, I don't know why they bother putting them in this market. it's pretty uncommon to see them busy. There is a huge Uniqlo next to my house and I was literally the only one in it yesterday.

Could you provide more information on this boycott? I'm not sure I've heard of it before now.

Sure, this wikipedia article is pretty accurate[1]. It comes down to a series of pretty complex issues between South Korea and Japan. Although the current boycott is usually talked about in the news as a result of what SK perceives to be an unfair trade relationship, the tension amongst the average person I talk to comes down to the lack of apology by Japan over comfort women, and more recently the Liancourt Islands[2]. Japan has updated it's High School history curriculum to state the Islands are owned by Japan and not mentioning the disputed status, while SK teaches about the dispute. As a result of all of this, many many Koreans won't shop at Japanese brands[3]. (I am not Korean however I live in Korea)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%932020_Japan%E2%80%...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liancourt_Rocks_dispute

[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_boycott_of_Japanese_produ...

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