How Affordable Fashion Brands Support Japan's Richest Man

by wgyuvs8a on 2012-02-26 20:07:26

How an affordable clothing brand made its founder the richest man in Japan

In 2005, facing a choice of product, sales, service, and corporate identity, which one was the key to turning things around for Tadashi Yanai? During an interview with The First Financial Weekly on the opening day, he emphasized "corporate identity" and "service."

Sato's "diagnosis" began here. Faced with Uniqlo gradually losing its appeal, Yanai hoped that Sato would use design to clarify its philosophy: clothes are parts of fashion, and combinations are free for consumers.

After understanding the crux of the issue, Sato designed the first New York flagship store for Uniqlo. New York is the hub of casual wear. In addition to fast-fashion brands like GAP, ZARA, and H&M, there are also many companies similar to Uniqlo, meaning it wouldn't have much of a price advantage.

Uniqlo’s previous slogan was "freedom and democracy," which seemed too serious for a fashion brand. After multiple direct discussions with Yanai, Sato outlined a vision: Uniqlo needed "aesthetic awareness ultra-rationality." This complex phrase means that Uniqlo products are not only aesthetically pleasing but also offer great value for money.

"I hope to strongly convey this feature that can look down on the world," Sato said. He then removed all of Uniqlo's old logos, changing them from dark red to pure red, with only the skeleton of the font remaining. Sato also designed a katakana version of the Uniqlo logo, not caring if Japanese appeared in overseas markets.

Yanai highly appreciated this logo. He said, even if foreigners couldn't understand it, it was enough to express the essence of Uniqlo, "certainly able to release strong power overseas."

When this logo appeared at the opening of the Uniqlo SOHO New York flagship store in November 2006, American media gave two evaluations: "reminds people of the Japanese flag," and "unprecedented boldness."

This was exactly the effect that Kazuhiko Sato wanted. Due to historical reasons, Japanese companies usually act low-key in the European and American markets, even well-known ones like Toyota rarely make large-scale corporate promotions. Uniqlo's actions were completely different; besides the katakana logo, there was also a slogan "From Tokyo to New York."

All of this was aimed at reshaping Uniqlo's brand perception. Kazuhiko Sato introduced Tadashi Yanai to the Japanese "Flash Master," multimedia designer Yuji Nakamura, to redesign Uniqlo's American website. Moreover, Sato brought in world supermodels to shoot print advertisements for Uniqlo, and these stylish posters were soon posted in Uniqlo stores worldwide.