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The United Nations of Uniqlo

economist.com

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Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#41

Post by karimmaassen »

csomar wrote: post #4

I have stumbled on Uniqlo while around Tokyo. I was surprised how cheap it is, minimalist the styles were, and how very good the material/quality is. I have been mainly purchasing from Celio, Mango, H&M (ie: the European brands). My experience is that the clothes will last less than a year before becoming too washed to be wear. Clothes I bought from Uniqlo still look very good now 1.5 year later. Looks like they'll l…

Same. The first time I went to a Uniqlo was in Tokyo. I was amazed. There's one in Amsterdam (I'm Dutch) so I revisited and was surprised with almost the exact same experience. As when I went shopping in New York, beginning this year.

The quality of these clothes, especially for this price range, is extraordinary. H&M - my previous go-to shop - is utter crap in comparison.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#42

Post by oliverobscure »

iamben wrote: post #15

Huge fan of Uniqlo, we're very lucky to have so many of them in London. The clothes tend to be the right side of 'fashionable', ie the cuts are modern and flattering, the price is very comparable with and often better than the other UK high street rivals, and most importantly the quality for the most part far surpasses everything else in the price bracket. It's (generally) far better than buying from Zara or H&M, whi…

Especially in central London! I went around on a Zone 1 Uniqlo tour with my friend before lockdown and it's surprising in that different outlets offer different clothing.

I also am a fan of the lack of branding - the simplicity helps to complement other pieces, however I do also buy some of their UT Graphic Tees, especially since the designs are so... well, unique.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#43

Post by NineStarPoint »

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.

It’s possible you heard about it a whole ago, it’s been an ongoing boycott for a while:

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_internation...

http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=4...

https://thediplomat.com/2020/07/japanese-firms-exit-south-ko...

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#44

Post by microcolonel »

neom wrote: post #40
Andrex wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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[…

These deficiencies in Japanese education are self-reinforcing; people who are unaware of these things will not pressure the state to include them in the curriculum. Of course, I'm sure SK doesn't talk much about their greatest moral embarrassments.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#45

Post by neom »

microcolonel wrote: post #44
neom wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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[…

These deficiencies in Japanese education are self-reinforcing; people who are unaware of these things will not pressure the state to include them in the curriculum. Of course, I'm sure SK doesn't talk much about their greatest moral embarrassments.

Similarly, we don't teach about the Canadian Indian residential school system in high school, and non-native Canadians have a difficult time empathizing with the state of reserves. Does any country do a good job of this?

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#46

Post by iamben »

akdor1154 wrote: post #27
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…

They give free hemming here in Aus, maybe they do in the UK as well?

Yup, they do in the UK as well :-)

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#47

Post by lvturner »

iamben wrote: post #15

Huge fan of Uniqlo, we're very lucky to have so many of them in London. The clothes tend to be the right side of 'fashionable', ie the cuts are modern and flattering, the price is very comparable with and often better than the other UK high street rivals, and most importantly the quality for the most part far surpasses everything else in the price bracket. It's (generally) far better than buying from Zara or H&M, whi…

I've always thought the quality was subpar with oddly fitting cuts.

Still occasionally shop their for some niche items (longjohns spring to mind) but generally I find a store best avoided

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#48

Post by jessaustin »

microcolonel wrote: post #44
neom wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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[…

These deficiencies in Japanese education are self-reinforcing; people who are unaware of these things will not pressure the state to include them in the curriculum. Of course, I'm sure SK doesn't talk much about their greatest moral embarrassments.

In USA public schools the same history course is given ten grades in a row. Somehow it neglects to include anything about Wounded Knee, USA actions in Philippines, Mosaddegh coup, COINTELPRO, School of the Americas, etc.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#49

Post by Joe8Bit »

I did some strategy work for a very large UK fashion retailer who's at the complete opposite end of the "don't chase fashion" market. Everyone in that industry is trying to emulate Uniqlo's margins and unit economics.

This article talks about how they produce their fabric, but the thing they realised super early is how valuable _vertical integration_ can be in fashion retail. They own the end to end process, from raw material purchase upwards.

They can do this BECAUSE of how limited their selection is, if you're a fast fashion retailer you always needs new materials and new patterns and new tooling so it's incredibly hard to chase vertical integration and strong unit economics. They get savings by pushing that risk and RnD onto dedicated manufacturers in places like Bangladesh. It's 'just in time' manufacturing in a pretty extreme sense. Because Uniqlo have so much less cardinality in their stock they can focus and optimise for it. It also enables them to control quality in a way few others can.

Re: The United Nations of Uniqlo

#50

Post by frusciante19 »

If you are looking for made in Japan clothing, you won't find it at Uniqlo. They are just another company producing clothing in low-wage countries to ensure higher profit margins. Absolutely no difference from the other fast-fashion companies mentioned below, except geographical.
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