Uniqlo

[Guest]

On Tuesday 29,March,2016 at 10:29 PM, doncoin said:

The sad thing to me with all these global brands is they take the fun out of shopping when travelling overseas. When I was growing up, I remember relatives would travel to London to get Burberry or even stuff from M&S that we do not get in Singapore. Paris, to go to shop in Printemps, Galeries Lafayette (though both stores did open up in Singapore for a period of time in the 80s, or Tati.

 

They bring shopping to your door step

[doncoin]

33 minutes ago, Guest said:

 

They bring shopping to your door step

 

Yeah... I understand the need for globalisation for businesses to grow. However, I do think it does take part of the fun out of traveling, not that I travel to shop. 

[tyan]

They now even have formal blazer that is both super light-weight and waterproof !!

 

[Closeted_jock]

1 hour ago, nogun said:

Buy their airism t shirt dark grey or black ,the white color nipples too obvious! Guys who have nice chest wearing the shirt really makes your body look hot!and the material is so soft !does not trap heat remains cool!cost 14.90 per. T-shirt... not the mesh type one

I prefer the mesh ones. It provides texture and subtle patterns so that it doesn't look 100% like an inner shirt

[Carpenter]

Ahh, fav shop. Lots my stuff's from there. Pretty cheap.

[darkflame]

A lot of people tell me heat tech is really good but somehow it doesn't appeal to me.

Even in winter, I chose to wear alternatives instead of heat tech.

[Guest]

I highly recommend the Airism series too.  I always wear in to the gym and get quite a bit of attention along the way ie MRT, shopping mall, etc.

[lovehandle]

20 hours ago, darkflame said:

A lot of people tell me heat tech is really good but somehow it doesn't appeal to me.

Even in winter, I chose to wear alternatives instead of heat tech.

but darkflame, the material is light and comfy , managed to keep me warm ...I went to many temperate ctries during xmas with not much thick jacket on

 

It shows that the heat tech works

[Guest]

I will buy when the mega store at Orchard Central is opened.

[HendryTan]

http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Uniqlo-chief-admits-defeat-on-higher-pricing-strategy

 

April 13, 2016 6:22 am JST

Uniqlo chief admits defeat on higher pricing strategy

 

TOKYO -- The Uniqlo casual clothing chain will slash prices and return to its simple pricing regime because price hikes in the past two years have proven to be a mistake, Tadashi Yanai, chairman and president of parent company Fast Retailing, said in a recent interview with The Nikkei.

     "Customers didn't agree that products with new, higher prices reflect fair value," Yanai said. "The market was in a very tough situation. We made a mistake of raising prices under such circumstances. Consumer sentiment has turned out to be far worse than we thought."

 

Restored pricing

Uniqlo raised prices 5% in 2014 and followed up with a 10% hike in 2015, in part to reflect changes in foreign exchange rates. The company's stated thinking was that pricing should reflect fair value, and retailers are being selfish when they avoid price hikes and force suppliers to endure thin margins.

     But the price hikes drove away Japanese consumers. Same-store customer traffic in Japan dropped 6.3% in the September 2015 to February 2016 period. To lure back shoppers, Uniqlo shaved prices 300 yen to 1,000 yen ($2.76 to $9.21) on some of its offerings in early February. But this apparently did not stem the tide.

     "Our products used to have simple pricing, such as 1,990 yen and 2,990 yen," the Uniqlo founder said. "The price hikes were a mistake also because they increased products with halfway pricing, such as 2,490 yen. We will bring back 1,990 yen, 2,990 yen and other simple and clear prices."

     Uniqlo will halt most of the weekend-only discounts it has been frequently offering, Yanai said, as stores instead offer low prices throughout the year so customers receive value whenever they visit.

Business owner's perspective

"We didn't achieve growth this first half (the six months through February). We only got bloated," Yanai said. "Everyone was focusing only on their own section. They only chased after what was best for their own section. A lack of the business owner's perspective among many of our workers made it impossible for our company to keep up with dramatic changes.

     "The signs were already there in 2014, but we happened to achieve sales growth due to a cold winter," he said. "We had it too easy in 2014. We continued to operate in the same way in 2015 and ended up with lower gross profit margins and higher costs."

 Fast Retailing's net profit plunged 55% year on year in the September-February half. The company is bracing for the first decline in full-year net profit in two years for the current year through August.

     Admitting responsibility as the top manager for failing to shake off complacency by employees, Yanai declared his intent to drastically reform Uniqlo's organizational structure. Instead of the conventional framework of divisions with their own executives, midlevel managers and underlings, Yanai wants to have a number of small teams of around five to six people each. Those groups will be assigned projects and held accountable for their operating costs and personnel training. This change aims to instill the business owner's perspective in each worker.

     With expectations that overseas markets will propel its future growth, Fast Retailing is keeping an eye out for acquisition deals. But Yanai said how Fast Retailing handles integration of acquired businesses also will change. He revealed that the company already has sent its people to J Brand as the U.S. upmarket jeans unit, which Fast Retailing acquired in late 2012, has continued to run deficits.

     "Even if it's a different brand, the basic attitude toward work and values won't change," Yanai said. "We will do everything by ourselves, rather than leaving the management of acquired companies to executives there like we did before."