Yiku is one of the brands we focus on during the "Consumption Upgrade/Brand New Retail" investigation. Compared with MUJI, it has the same successful brand operation experience.
MUJI attaches great importance to brand building, but rarely does large-scale advertising; on the contrary, UNIQLO attaches great importance to branding and advertising. It is of great reference value to study the two together.
Recently, I have systematically researched the UNIQLO brand and read "One Win and Nine Defeats" by Masaru Yanai. Combined with my previous inspection and analysis of MUJI in Japan, I have the following thoughts. I hope it will be helpful to the general public. Practitioners engaged in brand marketing are helpful and enlightening:
Market analysis and positioning
Yanai Masaru’s father is a An old-style businessman, he opened a suit shop in Japan in 1949, the year Tadashi Yanai was born.
In 1963, Yanai began to inherit the family business. Until the opening of the No. 1 Uniqlo store in 1984, Yanai worked hard at "Ogori Shoji" for 20 years.
At first, we made men’s suits, and later we made casual clothes. Men's formal wear has high prices and high profit margins, but like Japanese kimonos, the product turnover period is very long, with turnover 2-3 times a year. If you sell well, you can make money; if you sell poorly, you will have a backlog of inventory. This is also the golden rule often spoken in today's Internet circles - high frequency and low frequency. It can be said that Uniqlo has the seeds of an Internet technology company very early.
"Sometimes I feel like one of those taxi drivers who only want to pick up long-distance customers. The waiting time for the opportunity is always very long." Yanai Masaru's autobiography "One Victory and Nine Loss” wrote.
In the 1980s, LIMITED was born in the United States. Stores like GAP, which can make hundreds of billions of yen from selling clothes alone, greatly touched Yanai Masaru.
Uniqlo started as a boutique store. At first, Yanai Masaru went to the United States with an industry association's business inspection team. Later, he went to the United States and Europe to purchase goods by himself, so he opened a store specializing in overseas goods. Despite this, suit stores and casual wear stores have always been the two driving forces behind the company's operations. Yanai Masaru also realized that purchasing his favorite products abroad and selling them in his own store could only be regarded as a personal interest and not a formal store operation.
Yanai Tadashi decided to open a "huge warehouse where you can choose clothes at any time" and "let customers buy casual clothes like weekly magazines."
Target group/core users
Compared to fashion, basic clothing in daily life is more popular. When UNIQLO learned about this consumption trend, it adjusted its customer's target market to a market that has no age difference, no gender difference, and can deal with people of any status.
It’s not like I didn’t make mistakes during this period. For example, I once launched the sportswear brand SPOQLO and the homewear brand FAMIQLO, which later ended in failure. The summary reasons are:
1. The positioning difference from Uniqlo is not obvious.
2. Spread your energy. In order to ensure that these stores have supplies, you sometimes have to mobilize UNIQLO products, causing UNIQLO stores to often be out of stock and out of code.
3. Disperse customers’ energy. In the past, I could buy all the clothes in one store, but now I have to go to three stores.
Building a business model
Traditional clothing retail stores usually select and purchase goods from factories and wholesalers, and use consignment sales.
The agency sales method does not put much pressure on the seller. If the sales are not good, it can be returned to the supplier, and the business risk is relatively small. But the wool comes from the sheep, and this part of the investment will actually be added to the original price in the end, reducing the gross profit margin of the product. In order to maintain a certain gross profit margin, merchants must raise selling prices. As a result, this part of the price will eventually be passed on to consumers.
This method also has one of the biggest drawbacks - the production of goods is dominated by factories and wholesalers, and the products that eventually appear on store shelves lack consistency.
In addition, the factory and wholesaler have the final say on pricing, and there is no room for free pricing.
Uniqlo also purchased goods from garment manufacturers at the beginning. Although the price was cheap, the quality was not ideal. Later, it was entrusted with overseas processing by Japanese garment manufacturers, but because it had not yet been established at the time, Quality management system.
Some low-quality clothes are often found among products processed overseas. Because the purchase price is low, if the production of high-quality products is required, the factory is unwilling to do it because there is no profit. So Uniqlo began to consider conducting production and quality management on its own.
We have systematically studied Miniso, and the logic of Miniso’s supply chain is also derived from this.
When dealing in low-priced goods, the turnover rate of goods has become the most critical factor. At that time, due to lack of funds, I would buy whatever products sold well and implement fast in and fast out. Products that do not sell well should be dealt with in the current season and never sold in the next season. As the number of stores continues to increase, it is increasingly difficult to ensure the supply of goods.
In order to control sales prices, retailers turned to special orders. As the number of stores continues to increase and the purchasing capabilities of stores continue to improve, UNIQLO decides to develop its own products and then entrust manufacturers to produce them. Although as a retailer, you cannot directly produce ready-made garments, it is feasible to participate in production management when entrusting manufacturers with production and processing. This is also the origin of Uniqlo’s SPA model.
Uniqlo introduced GAP’s SPA model into Japanese innovation and analyzed it using Uchida Kazunari’s “rule-breaker model”. It belongs to the order-destroying type – without changing products and services, introducing new ones profit model to change the rules of competition and provide new value to consumers.
P. S. During the "Consumption Upgrading/Brand New Retail" Japan inspection of the Entrepreneurship Laboratory, I was fortunate to hear Kazunari Uchida, a professor at Waseda University Business School, share his thoughts on business innovation. Very inspiring to think about. This part of the content will be expanded upon in another article in the future.
From "Ogun Shoji" to "Fast Retailing"
Quickly capture customer needs and quickly implement customer needs Commercialized and quickly put on stores for sale.
Uniqlo designs and plans its own products, entrusts factories to process them, then buys out all the products and sells them in stores. At the same time, the sales results are fed back into the design and planning of the products. go.
Efficient operation can be ensured in all aspects from product design to terminal sales. Throughout the entire process, UNIQLO assumes full responsibility for the products, eliminates all unnecessary waste and ineffective labor, and returns the profits thus saved to customers, allowing customers to enjoy more affordable and high-quality benefits.
The above is the core of UNIQLO’s business model.
Since all risks are borne by UNIQLO, it only needs to control the risks to the maximum extent the company can bear, and then act. At this time, the buyer who originally controlled the product has become a product planner (MD) who determines the direction, quality and quantity of the product.
It is worth noting that MUJI also has the same SPA model, but has gone in another product and brand direction.
Product iteration, technology-driven
In the beginning, Uniqlo’s products were indeed not as good as they are now. There is nothing new under the sun. You see, the following operation method is very similar to the MVP minimum viable product and grayscale testing on the current Internet:
In October 1995, Uniqlo An advertisement was published in national newspapers and weekly magazines: asking for 1 million yen to collect dissatisfaction with Uniqlo.
Yanai Masaru believes that instead of indirectly obtaining consumer feedback and dissatisfaction from consulting companies, it is better to listen to the voices of consumers directly.
As a result, nearly 10,000 consumer opinions were collected, almost all of which related to product quality.
"A set of 1,900 yen sweatshirts came off the line after one wash, and cracked under the arms after two washes. I will never buy your products again. "
"The T-shirt was washed only once, and the collar became loose."
After reading these feedbacks, Yanai Masaru felt very depressed. But on the other hand, these opinions are very helpful in understanding the quality of the company's products and are first-hand information for research and improvement.
Yanai Tadashi insists that the quality of Uniqlo’s products has been greatly improved now, which is inseparable from the countless failed experiences gained in the store. “Controlling the store” is the key to management. fundamental.
Failure is the mother of success. Without the failure of that year, there would be no hot products born at the turn of the century in 1999 - the polar fleece series? and the - born in 2003. —HEATTECH series.
In addition, Uniqlo has made no secret of its fascination with technology when it comes to the research and development of new materials. From many perspectives, it has the core of a technology company. UNIQLO's technological innovation makes clothes, the second "skin" we extend, more comfortable and fashionable.
In China, technology in most enterprises is limited to the information technology department. Nowadays, digital technology, mobile technology, big data and other technologies are used to support and promote innovation throughout the organization, including new product development, manufacturing and market development strategies, etc., covering many industry fields.
The key to all problems is to create a platform and generate influence by repeatedly using this platform. This platform inspiration is not limited to "the Internet".
Uniqlo is exactly such an Internet + platform.
Brand——/Output Values ??
In 1984, the first Uniqlo store opened in Hiroshima.
Yanai Tadashi’s dream of opening a “huge warehouse where you can choose clothes at any time” and “let customers buy casual clothes like weekly magazines” has finally come true It can be seen from the early name - "UNICLO CLOTHING WAREHOUSE".
Although the name is very meaningful, it was later found that it was difficult for customers to remember, so it was renamed UNI .CLO, and later simply removed the dividing point in the middle: called UNICLO.
"No matter how much effort you put into choosing a name, if the customer can't remember it, it won't matter. It’s meaningless,” Yanai Masaru said.
The change from UNICLO to UNIQLO came from a beautiful accident:
When a joint venture was established in Hong Kong, The person who went through the registration process mistakenly wrote C instead of Q. Later, judging from the font, Q had a better visual effect, so it was decided to change the names of all the company's stores, including the names of stores in Japan, to "UNIQLO".
Since the opening of the first "UNIQLO" store, Yanai Tadashi has been determined to build the store into an "environment where customers can choose freely."
For example, when decorating a store, it is required that the main aisle in the store must be straight and spacious. Try not to suspend the ceiling as much as possible, and it does not matter if the cement frame is exposed, it will appear open and spacious.
Store clerks are required to maintain a spotless environment. No matter what time, the products look neat and tidy, and replenishment is done in a timely manner.
Store clerks do not have to pester customers all the time, but they provide the most enthusiastic service when customers inquire or need help. Shop assistants must wear aprons so they can be easily identified by customers.
This is to think about the problem from the customer's perspective - to turn the store where the customer wants to go most into the store where we sell the best.
The essence of these stores has been learned to the extreme by the Chinese company Miniso and has been written into the book "Minso has no secrets".
Slogan——LifeWear?
UNIQLO started out as a brand-name collection store and did not produce its own clothing. For example, CHAMPION, Reebok, ELVIS PRESLEY, and Badboy are all brands owned by others.
The failure of the acquisition of VM Company made Uniqlo realize that the operating model of bringing its own planned products to the market under other people's brands (paying brand usage fees) was not feasible. We must quickly use the "UNIQLO" brand to unify the company's external brand image.
But, what is this brand image? In addition to stylish products such as clothes, what does it advocate? What kind of lifestyle does it represent?
"We sell Style, especially lifestyle. We make clothing to allow people to express their attitude towards lifestyle... We hope to provide customers with simple, Japanese-based clothing Comfortable clothing with values ??of quality and durability, thereby making people’s lives better,” said Yanai Masaru.
In order to express that technological progress makes people's lives better. At the end of 2013, UNIQLO changed its slogan from Made For All to the current Life Wear.
Compared with its competitors, MUJI, which is equally successful, eliminates excess in its products and pursues essence. The brand is also exporting values ????to the world - simplicity, environmental protection, and a restrained lifestyle. .
Enlightenment: A great brand should give special value to people’s lives - apart from making profits, what is the meaning of your existence?
Marketing activities
When the No. 1 Uniqlo store opened, Tadashi Yanai had already realized the importance of advertising:
"If you want to do business in an unfamiliar area, if you don't advertise, customers won't know about it, and they won't come to your door." Even if it already has a certain degree of popularity, Uniqlo must advertise it widely every time it opens a store.
Since the opening of Uniqlo’s No. 1 store (located in Hiroshima City), Uniqlo has been advertising on radio and television. From that time on, Yanai Masaru felt the Uniqlo advertising first-hand. The effect and influence of communication among the public.
The advertisement that Yanai Masaru is most satisfied with, and the advertisement that directly promotes sales, is the polar fleece sweater TV advertisement broadcast in the early winter of 1999. From W+K creative director Mr. John Jay, Yanai's autobiography "One Win and Nine Loss" did not hesitate to praise this creative genius. (Unfortunately, I can’t find this advertisement. If anyone can find it, please send it to us).
John Jay believes that Japanese TV advertisements are completely inadequate. They only know what they want to say. In terms of expression methods and expressions, they use exaggerated sounds, Weird expressions, blind pursuit of novelty, no respect and respect for the listener, and the information that the customer hopes to convey to consumers is not effectively disseminated. (P.S.? I think it’s much better than domestic advertising)
Uniqlo’s advertising experience
Uniqlo’s advertising To show respect for the listeners, you cannot impose your will on the TV audience, but let the audience judge the advertising content based on their own minds.
It is not a one-sided information transmission, but allows the audience to realize themselves after watching the advertisement.
If advertising has no substantial content, then advertising itself is a waste. If the advertising content is rich and substantial, it will become a major selling point of the promotion and will achieve twice the result with half the effort. The substance of advertising is like the turbine engine of an airplane. Without it, the airplane cannot fly.
Modern people’s living habits are influenced by all kinds of information. Therefore, if good products just sit there quietly, they will not be sold at all. What is so good about this product, how good it is, what price it is, where it is sold, when it starts selling, and other information must be accurately informed to consumers.
Effective use of advertising agencies
Advertisements should be made by advertisers themselves, not by creatives or advertising agencies Can provide full assistance. Advertisers need to plan their own plans and can only use creatives or advertising agencies as one of the functions. On the contrary, the effect desired by the advertiser will not be achieved.
Good advertising creatives can understand the true thoughts of advertisers, give full play to their own wisdom, and use appropriate media platforms to create advertisements that satisfy advertisers. . Advertisers without independent opinions and entrusting advertising companies without creative capabilities will not be able to produce successful commercials.
Advertisers cannot throw everything to the advertising company. They must fully inform the advertising creative people of their company’s business policies and business philosophy, so that they can understand the company’s corporate culture. .
Anyone who engages in creative work must allow their thoughts to flow freely and independently in a free and relaxed environment.
Uniqlo’s marketing case
Uniqlo Shanghai Museum of Glass LifeWear 2018 Autumn and Winter Series Preview
The latest cases in China in 2018
Marketing innovation: brand new retail exploration—at the forefront of the times
In the new retail logic of the UNIQLO brand, the most important thing is the two-way drainage of online and offline traffic:
·Same price online and offline
< p>·Place an order online and have it delivered to your home by express delivery
·Try on clothes offline, or you can go back to place an order online and have it delivered to your home
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The electronic POP Uniform "code" is the most powerful bridge connecting offline and online. It is like the "ID card" of the product, helping users obtain all information about the product, and also You can check the color, size and related store inventory information of each product in real time; send the real-time location to find the store closest to you.
Unlike many brand WeChat accounts that cannot escape the self-media attribute of “content aggregation platform”, UNIQLO pays more attention to its functional attributes.
It has achieved true omni-channel marketing, fully integrating online and offline. In this regard, it can be said to be the absolute leader among all brands.