Change or die.
GENERATION WHY?
We know what we are, but not what we may be.
Editor’s note Waking up and enjoying a good cup of coffee before heading out and hearing the train engine as it builds before reaching the other station and then getting dressed with items comfortable, function and fashionable such as Uniqlo has never been so easy. Pants which are stretchable and soft to the touch as well as an inner shirt which keeps me cool and comfortable before putting on a extra-fine cotton broadcloth shirt to complete my day-to-day outfit. Launching in 2005, Uniqlo, has played an important role in providing to consumers high quality casual wear to consumers all over the world. With it’s simplicity in design of casual wear consumers can be assured to have something that is for them even a neck warmer for instance.
Managed by 6 directors that includes 5 other external directors, the company sets itself apart through its brand strategy and creative control. With Creative Directors all appointed and selected thoroughly before a project is laid out a year before a launch, opinions also played a decisive role in ensuring messages and opinions of the advisory board are incorporated into the key’s message of Uniqlo and that employees are sufficiently inspired to subscribe to this message “sell” it as part and parcel of the company’s business. An extremely well-developed brand concept and pitch-perfect presentation are also important. We want to hear your voice, what do consumers what that Uniqlo could offer. How can we extend a helping hand to provide not to your wants in fashion but your needs in your life. No company or organization can last without people who understands its core ideas and put them into action to ensure a succession with consistent steadfastness and interest.
Muzammel Jumari
contents
eDITOR’S iNTRO the shift brand story THE NEW SUPER-EGO identity
2-bit, 2 cents.
Born and ressurected.
Why did we change?
A rebel in the making.
An immediate change from a regular guy to a maverick.
It’s time to represent the new identity of UNIQLO.
THE Target dna / lingo mOVEMENT OUTRO
Honoring Generation Y.
Project Montauk.
MK ULTRA
Accepting the Millennials
“Uniqlo as a company has always developed new fabrics and is always trying to be innovative. The design is simple, so the fabric is important.� Nicola Formichetti 22 October 2017.
“It’s cool, I would totally wear their stuff, I would do it, I would do it and I’m going to keep doing that because I love their collection.” Barbara Palvin 1 April 2014.
"The company has exploded in the past decade, becoming Asia's biggest clothing retailer and Uniqlo's leaders have ambitious goals to make the brand the leader in retail worldwide, according to The Wall Street Journal." Megan Durisin, Business Insider 2013.
“Honestly, my first experience with Uniqlo is a privileged one because it’s my collaboration but my first time trying the sample, the only thing I did the entire day was walk around showing everybody the quality of it and I was just like ‘Wow, this is going to be revolutionary.” - Pharrell Williams 1 April 2014.
Time to be reborn again.
INTRO
“Being ashamed of failure is something I disagree with. If everyone is successful in the business, everybody will go into it. But a lot of people fail. And they tend to give up when they do. But never give up. You have to challenge yourself to do it again and again and you have to explore why you fail. You have to analyse what you have to do to be successful in the second attempt.�
Do you think that this is something that you learned from your father, having grown up in an environment with him as a smallshop owner? Yes, I think so. No matter if you have ten stores, or 100 stores, or 1,000 stores or 10,000 stores, everything starts from one store, and everything starts from satisfying one customer. And every store needs to sustain its own business. Every customer is buying one particular item of clothing or maybe two—but no one buys 10,000 garments. So each each product, each piece in each product, each store and each customer: recognising the importance of that is essential in the retail business. My ideal company is a small company with one boss, making his own products and selling everything in his own store. I think that that is ideal. But that is not feasible. That is why I have to delegate to different functions.
This raises the question of Fast Retailing’s next generation of leadership. You have two sons. Have you thought about succession? What are your views on retaining talent? Yes, I do have two sons, but I do not want them to take my place: I don’t want them to head this company. I am proud of them. They have the skills. But I don’t want them to be part of the management team. However, they do own 10% of the company’s shares, so I’d like them to be board members. But I don’t think they will be involved in the operations of the company. I want the people who grew up within the company to be the operational managers of this company and not just passing it to them.
What are your views on this? I don’t think this company can be managed by one person but with a team of a few people. And I think that out of this pool of 200 people, there are some that can become a member of the top management team without a doubt.
Following up on this, why do you feel it is best for your sons to assume a supervisory role on the board of directors rather than an operational role as executives? When studying history, not only of the apparel industry but also other industries, family succession has not yielded good results. Anyone with good skills and proven performance wants to become
a top manager. So by simply bringing into this organisation the son of a board member or a president, and giving him the president’s position, I think is a big disappointment for staff who are working very hard and yielding results. So I do not want my family to take over my seat.
You say that no one person can take over Fast Retailing but perhaps a team. Can you elaborate on that? Well, I am a founder. So I know every aspect, probably. I know the most aspects. I started out when I was young. I did everything by myself up to this point. So there isn’t anybody who has experience as much as I have. Even if he knows what’s being done, even if the person really had expertise, I don’t know of anybody would really trust what that person says, because he is not a founder—even if there were someone who has experience as vast I do.
Are you terrified that Uniqlo is going to look like Panasonic after Matsushita-san or Sony after Morita-san, or other Japanese companies who lagged once their founders left—with management by committee and “salaryman-sacho”? Yes, that is the worst of all. The salaryman-sacho is one of the biggest reasons why the Japanese economy went down. They don’t take responsibility. And are they fullyWW committed to the business? I don’t think so.
One source of strength in many companies is diversity. Uniqlo looks like many other Japanese companies in that it is almost entirely Japanese, with few non-Japanese or women in management. Does this concern you, and if so, how will you address it? That is one of the vulnerabilities that you were talking about [earlier]. However that is a vulnerability of today. But ten years down the road there will be more non-Japanese in our company, and women having the opportunity to work. That is what I mean by the globalisation of our company As our business grows, China’s capacity might not be enough,” said Yanai. “Although China remains our most important country, we need to consider other manufacturing bases like Vietnam and Cambodia.
Let me press you on that, since ten years is a long time in my business. Can I say that in 12 months you will have a non-Japanese or a woman on your board? (It currently has only four Japanese men in addition to Mr Yanai as chairman). I can’t promise that…But the more globalised we become, it is inevitable that more top managers will be women. Next year or the year after that about half of the people will be non-Japanese, and three years down the road, two-thirds of our new employes will be non-Japanese…Our market is no longer Japan. It is the world. We can’t manage the world with Japanese only: Japanese staff and Japanese executives.
How would you amid to the changes to appeal more in the market? We really have to transform this company to be successful and compete,” he says. “Before, we manufactured in China and sold in Japan. Now we need to manufacture in the world and sell to the world.” As we discussed with Mr Yanai, achieving this may require a big acquisition, as well as different strategies and management approaches than to those that brought the company its success.
To become the world’s largest retailer, you can try to grow organically or make acquisitions. What is the right combination for this? We want to grow organically. That should be our main path. For many years we have considered many companies, some with a sizeable network. But let’s say we were to purchase a big company; we would have to merge into one entity. That is only possible if the company has very solid management principles and a corporate culture that matches ours. Unless that happens, we would have to change everything. Think about all the energy and manpower it takes to merge two big entities into one! Can we really realise that? That is the way I’ve begun to think in recent days.
How can you incoporate culture within apparel and match other industries? In all industries we’re seeing more and more consolidation, and that is happening in the apparel industry too. But making sure that the corporate culture matches and top management see things in similar way, unless I found a real partner, I don’t think I would get into it.
Article from The Economist.
Changing Uniqlo’s philosophy one step at a time.
THE SHIFT
“PARADIGM. “
Every brand needs change at a certain point of time, every brand needs a change of pace. Even yourself, you can’t stay put in a place and do things coherently, we want challenges everyday and change the face of UNIQLO and not attending the needs of consumerism. While keeping our promise to the customers, providing high quality products towards and still maintaining the affordable price range towards our customers. Either we change or we die. Simple concept. Appealing to you still and you with a douse of madness.
CHANGE IS IMMINNENT, IMMEDIATE, CHANGE IS NEEDED.
Our main philosophy, is self-expression
and it has always been but it feels like a regular guy just going to the store buying something he /she needs and not wearing it as a fashion statement. Rarely, fashion companies changes so drastically. This brand shift is just waiting for to happen. A change so big we will state a clear message this time. A shift in image is needed after running a consistent image for 20 years.
Is it impossible? This big change, this idea of accepting the millennials where the ferocity of the young and the naive ideas that we have. How crazy it is to be alive at a time like this. We have done so many creative things over the years but as a company we felt that we aren’t pushing enough, the boundaries needs to be rebuild and be broken again and again and aspire to be more and more.
DON’T FORGET WHO RAISED THIS GENERATION
Shifting takes bravery, takes time, because a change in ideas and concept is hard but not impossible. The millennials are the main event, we can’t study them, because it’s impossible. Because to completely define millennials, to even understand them is just way too broad because with the aggrasive expansion of culture, technology almost everyone wants to be something different and it’s way too broad. Just too broad.
There is no envy, jealousy, or hatred between the different colors of the rainbow.
We want the millennials to talk about their ideas openly, not kept and wept. A change in our company’s setting could be a change in the future. Ever heard of small successes leads to bigger things. Taking things one step at a time but being able to change perspectives is a favor we’re doing the world and to us as well.
Spreading a clear and influential message towards the ages before the Gen Y that we are the ones that will take the lead, pass the baton on, change will happen like it or not and we maybe immature and uncommitted to things but we are always up for a fight.
Each one exists
to make the others
love more beautiful.
With opinions from store manager (Nora, Causeway Point).
Brand story
“Standing out. “
Uniqlo Singapore is open for suggestions even right down from staff. From customers and staff, managers can represent and relay informations to the upper hand if there's a need and if it will make a big difference to the sales of the company. That's why Uniqlo think deeply for the best of their customers. Whatever we do, we do for customers. It is the only thing to have revenues well received.
“We must come up and think deeply in order to propose or suggest to company what may work. “
Is the store layout different in each country? es. In fact not just in each country but even within Y the country, store’s layouts are different. This is mainly due to the unit and design construction of the mall and size of the store. Store size varies from super-small store to flagship store hence the different layouts. Different stores generate different sales depending on location and customers and therefore product lineups are also different. Nevertheless, the intention is the same. No matter how big or small the store size is or not matter how different the other factors are, the objective of all stores designs and layouts have no difference; it is for customers’ convenience for easy understanding and to allow customers to see overall of what the company is selling at a glance or at an angle even right from the entrance. Stores put in a lot of effort in considering and making layouts easy to shop for customers depending on the company’s intention and direction, but still put into consideration of their stores’ and customers’ characteristics to best fit in order to generate smooth sales. Therefore, even though store layouts are different from store to store, the objective and intention of the company portrayed through stores are the same.
Lately, Singaporean consumers have been getting more interested in Uniqlo products. Do you agree that this has changed the way Singaporeans shop in terms of style? o, I do not agree. All these years, Uniqlo has been N providing customers with basics and basics are the needs of almost all people. It is Singaporeans’ lifestyles that they come to Uniqlo to get the necessities for their essentials. For example, Singaporeans are now more exposed to sports activities like gym, yoga and dance to name a few. With company’s awareness to the upbeat of these audience, we make marketing strategies and campaigns to target these people and make our casual sports line up, which has been existing in Uniqlo, a highlight. This is put into effort so that customers are well aware that Uniqlo have what they are looking for. Consumers seem to have been getting more interested in Uniqlo products is kudos to the wide variety of medias that are pushing our products. In addition, we are trying to educate consumers, making known to the world that our products are not only clothes to cover the body, but also each item has its own characteristics and functionality.
You’re in charge of Uniqlo Causeway Point, sales, store operations and even human resources. Which one is the most toughest to handle? ot to say tough, but I’d say challenging. All different N aspects have their own different challenges, and on top of that, all these aspects link up to each other. When we make decisions, we really need to weigh and think deeply of the upcoming outcome, and we need to decide on the spot. But if I have to choose, I would say sales.
Uniqlo has an advantage that not most retailers don’t have. The power of clothing that is made for lifewear. Most, we fuse technology and clothing together to make power clothing, some others we think for the wearer on how else we can convenient their lives. Its the company’s mission to make their lives convenient through our clothes. Example Heattech that are thin so that customers can travel light and layer less and feel less bulky, we make Merino wool extra fine so that it can be worn by itself on any weather and does not prick to the skin. Others are anti-odor, quick-dry, easy-care and so on. Right down to the details such as baby items that have buttons and loops on the sides so that parents don’t have to worry about pulling their pants or tops when they are not in place whenever their babies move about. These are just a few examples that speaks for the company’s philosophy. As a conclusion, our products are value added and when it is shared with the world, more consumers are aware and hence, consumers come for a better option at a reasonable price. It is not that we change their style, but it’s the awareness of value added essentials that we provide for them that they come to us more.
We need to plan one season ahead for sales plan, then break down into monthly, weekly and daily. All these planning includes how many pieces we want to sell for each item in the store and which part of the store we want to put, what item, in what kind of facing, every month, every week and everyday. We have over 400 lineups in Causeway Point so you can imagine the challenge. Then when we implement the plans, we need to see if all the planning works with the result that was planned. If it does not go as planned, we fell and we must stand up immediately, we need to make changes on the spot according to real times and real situations, which, yes another thing that we have to think of, plan B. Not to mention the manhour needed, the stocks that we need to order monthly, weekly and daily in order to not have low stocks or missing size and colour and design, the sales formation in order to facilitate sales and the list goes on.
Why are you so focused on (selected topic)? It is what makes the company go round. Without sales , there will be no Uniqlo. Maximising sales and profits is one of our ultimate responsibilities. Everyday we need to review sales and analyse and make changes in that very moment need be, in order to not miss sales opportunities. We must come up and think deeply in order to propose or suggest to company what may work. Yes, Uniqlo Singapore is open for suggestions even right down from staff. From customers and staff, managers can represent and relay informations to the upper hand if there’s a need and if it will make a big difference to the sales of the company.
One of the interesting projects Uniqlo had is the Syria Programme, what is it about?
his is one of the company’s philosophy as well, to T enrich peoples’ lives through our unique corporate activities, and to seek to grow and develop our company in unity with society. It’s a project we’re having partnered with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Uniqlo provides clothing to help Syrian refugees through All-Product Recycling Initiatives at all stores. So all stores will collate items donated from staff or customers monthly, then we will filter out these clothes and send out to them. This will provide warmth to those in need there. Company’s employees will send them out and meet them personally to deliver the clothing. This is one of the ways where we facilitate positive change by the power of clothing even through social issues.
What are some other projects Uniqlo has ventured that you think is really interesting?
What really opened my eyes were when I got to know that Uniqlo donates to provide programs through Factory Worker Empowerment Project. They make clothes that are inspired by their traditional clothes and fund them into the Empowering Workers for Life project. This program is to support by educating female garment workers in Bangladesh and Indonesia, two and one year ago respectively, to acquire living skills on basic nutrition, hygiene, household management and healthcare. Uniqlo is aware that education is a social challenge that these countries are facing. There are very little education opportunities for the very basic education for them.
I think Uniqlo is smart. Right from the corporate statement, This program itself really speaks and Is there more Uniqlo could do other than reflects the statement. After the program, they’ve brought down the number of absentees and sick providing clothes for the refugees? leaves of their employees, and boost their morale at I will just talk about Uniqlo Singapore initiatives. work. Tremendous. Win-win situation. Uniqlo have Here, we worked with Minds schools and give job hopes to empower people for life by improving their opportunities for Minds students. To be able to give health standards and finance management. them the experience of working and give them a more meaningful objective in life, rather than leaving them Have Uniqlo jumped on a trend or are astray. Not only Minds, but we also accept interns they creating their own? to help them with practical on job experience in real life situations in the real world of retail. Not only job Uniqlo has what we call trend items. Our special opportunities, but we also let Minds staff to learn how departments such as Tokyo and New York trace to shop through our In-store shopping experience. upcoming trends one year in advance so that they Teachers will bring them to Uniqlo our of operating will launch in time at stores. However, these trend hours and with the guide of our very own staff, we guide them how to calculate, how to count money items are not produced a lot in consistent. Probably there are more during Spring Summer but not with the items they picked up. consistently every week or even every month. We Different countries have their own initiatives to make focus more on classic, basic clothes that doesn’t the world go round. We try not to leave anyone behind goes dated in a short period of time. It’s our mission us. We want to enable people all over the world to to provide comfortable everyday clothes for all. We experience the joy, happiness and satisfaction in are already creating our very own products that wearing such great clothes. It’s a beautiful world are versatile, high quality, reasonable prices which in Uniqlo. At the end of the day, its not just about have added values. This will be our trend that will making sales but making it known to the world of our never go out of style. We believe that this can great clothes. benefit everyone, and if everyone can feel better every with our clothes, maybe the world will be in a better place for all.
Changing clothes...
Changing conventional wisdom
Change the world.
An immediate change from a regular guy to a maverick.
THE NEW SUPER-EGO
“WEAR YOUR MASK. “
Uniqlo wants to change your perspective and control the fashion world. Our very own Project Montauk. Time to give in, accept the millennials, like it or not, we’re doing evolving towards a rebel, a maverick, we don’t want to serve the consumer market, we will ignore, we do what we want just like U will. You are our models, our ambassadors, your OOTDs and grams is our photoshoots.
Let’s be in the moment. This moment, this time a great time to be alive where fashion, ideas, creativity is not at it’s peak but just the beginning of a major change with everything so vastly created with ideas and businesses almost created everyday it’s hard to stay on track or be in the moment. Fashion will always keep changing, the ones who wants to make a change in the world, eventually do. The ones who waits for something to happen always gets left behind. That’s not the case with most of Gen Y. In this risky business of Gen Y, Uniqlo takes on a very risky chance in fashion and business in the future of fashion as we do want to lead the fashion industry and become numero uno in the world. Fashion designers, art directors, creatives to corporate and executives we see the growth in need of fashion sense that are related to streetwear, hypebeasts, monochromatic, normcore and a little bit on the misunderstood and rugged type. We really want to stand out, not known for our clothes but our ideas as a company we can invoke you to have. To be fearless in life because you live once and once is enough and to also be assertive and creative at the same time. Know what you want, work really hard and you’ll stand out.
“Behind this mask there is more than just flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea... and ideas are bulletproof.�
GEN Y, YOU, SUP MA, SUP BRA, HEY YOU, YES YOU, REBELLIOUS PUNK, HARDCORE LOOKING PEOPLE. CREATE YOUR OWN IDENTITY THROUGH FASHIWON, THROUGH YOUR INSTAGRAM, KEEP BREAKING THE RULES AND BENDING THEM. LEARN WHO YOU ARE AND YOU WILL BE LEARN TO STAND OUT, STOP COPYING.
U ARE U.
It’s time to represent the new identity of UNIQLO
IDENTITY
“BEING DISTINCITVE.“ A transition in identity is going to be your new identity. Can the millennials be the new faces of Uniqlo? U for U is for the new you who needs to be prominent. One day you’ll be able to say; “I came, I saw, I you conquered.”
Breaking grounds that are already broken
What is the new identity? The new UNIQLO identity is going is unimaginable and some would even say, risky or “not-Uniqlo” Is this some highsnobiety, hypebeast bullshit? What if people stop buying UNIQLO? What if this identity shift doesn’t adapt to the needs of most people. A lof of countries in SouthEast Asia see Uniqlo as a means of a need instead of a want. When you’re travelling you buy UNIQLO, when you need just a simple t-shirt or jeans you go to UNIQLO. It’s time to change the mindset of this is SouthEast Asia. It’s time for high fashion infused with streetwear be the new identity of UNIQLO. Only the brave, daring can wear because we’re changing the whole look, tone and feel of UNIQLO whethere you like it or not.
Honoring Generation Y
THE TARGET
“we know who we are.“ Thriving on inspiring that you influence and inspire yourself, you want to only be you the significant, the ballsy person you are and not following the status quo. The millenials wants to be recognized not as a group or a brigade but the alien, the odd one out.
You want instant gratification, millennials are hellbent on dopamine. You’re vain, pompous and stubborn. The age of spin, there is so much going on, you focus on yourself, don’t want to relate to the world, don’t want to be understood but respected, wants to amaze but laze. This tribe has so many opinions on certain things we all break away but stay loyal to the good causes. We destroyed love, music and fashion. We break grounds that were broken. Don’t hate us because you ain’t us. Don’t forget who raised us up.
U for U is the identity, idea, re
ebel, maverick, hero, heroine
Opinions regarding streetwear, a millennial speciality from Nora (Causeway Point manager)
Do you think it takes a long time for brands like Uniqlo to appeal towards people wearing streetwear? Uniqlo stands up for their core. Whatever that is simple, sleek, contemporary and sophisticated is Uniqlo, WHICH can be a part of streetwear style or any other styles. Like what the company states, made for all, it can be a part of any styles and characteristics of any consumers. Having said that, it is unlikely for Uniqlo to appeal ONLY towards people wearing streetwear ENTIRELY. But what we may possibly come up with is collaborations with streetwear brands that will capture this group of people. As we speak, there are already a number of streetwear stylers buying and wearing Uniqlo pieces as part of their style. Hence, I wouldn’t say it takes a long time because we already have such customers. Even some of our stylings derived and inspired from streetwear. It’s just how you put together an outfit that suits the individual. I personally noticed a lot of different concepts and styles from customers that shops in Uniqlo. And they are actually the people who needs lesser attention for asking what kind of items should they get, because they know what they want. They have their own perception of what kind of products they want and how they want to style it because they have a strong sense of concept that they’re going for. Maybe that’s why it seemed that it is not appealed because they are quite discreet. Nevertheless, how long or how far Uniqlo wants to change their appeal, I bet we will never go too far away from the company’s roots. Unless if there’s really a need, for instance people all over the world start to wear metal T-shirts in the future? Then maybe we will bend towards there, which also part of company’s principles to look reality straight in the eyes, adapt and evolve, based on the current and real situations. Everything’s changing fast, we will never know, and we’re up for it. So we need to change as well, or we’ll die...
Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not.
UNIQLO’s Project Montauk.
DNA / LINGO
“OF HASHTAGS AND RETWEETS“
Studying you, learning your language, what you talk about, what are your visual pleasures, what excites you and what depresses you. We’re watching every move you make but it can’t make sense and your interests just keeps expanding as you millennials can’t commit. That’s the harsh truth.
With all this information of millennials, how about you start creating a dent in the world. This synergy between millennials to always innovate shows the most amazing importance impact you guys are going to have in the world. Change as you do more and always make change. With this, millennials you’re able to tackle homosexuality, racial disputes, war, mental illness and many more problems that will come up. Most important thing is to have good taste, get rid of your ego and learn about yourself. With that sentiment, you want make a dent in the world? You will. In time. Go do it. You want to be creative, think different, you want to be amazing in your work, work in your craft. Handle your life amazingly and destroy any stereotype or status quo. Power through our clothing, pick and choose, mix our items, cut our jeans cut our flannels, destroy our jeans, bleach them, make them yours, show U. Represent yourself in a way no one could copy. Even if they want to copy you, only you can pull it off. Be the one to set a trend. Trendsetter go-getter.
MK ULTRA UNIQLO.
movement
“mind kontrol“ Now that we have a clear understanding on what we want you to do, get up, dress up and show up and impress the world with your super-ego. Act local but think global, show them what you got, show them that this generation has way more potential than previous generation ever had.
U for U Time to shine guys. The movement will happen with or without you. You better get ready, the other generation or school of thought you better be ready. UNIQLO is taking over. By the time you catch up we’re already on to the next one. We all came to fight for U. It’s all up to U now. Either you rise as your own individual or come apart and stay in the past. The message is clear ain’t it? U for U. It’s made for U, designed and the thought process is about U so that U can do something about other people’s U.
ACCEPTING THE MILLENNIALS.
Enjoy the imagery.
outro
Perhaps it's impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be.
Special thanks to : Jia Lun Clara Hong Sabda Bima Shaiful Bahri Fatin