Uniqlo has recently returned to Osaka with a new flagship store. The revised version aims at attracting tourists with its localized designs and collaboration with Osaka businesses and artists.
A strong comeback
Built and run by the richest man in Japan, the $73M apparel empire of Uniqlo is among the three undisputed leaders in fast fashion. With 2,434 stores, it comes behind H&M’s 4,375 – but eclipses Zara’s mere 2,312 outlets.
With a global presence in 25 countries, Uniqlo became the number-one fashion brand in China in 2021. That same year in Japan, Uniqlo reeled from the pandemic as foreign visitors to Japan fell to a record low, a 99.2% drop from 2019.
Consequently, the country’s first global flagship store in Shinsaibashi, Osaka shut down.
Just two years later, Japan’s inbound tourism not only recovered but exceeded pre-pandemic levels. People returned, and so did the money. Foreign tourists in 2023 spent more in Japan than they did in 2019.
The timing was perfect for Uniqlo to reopen the Shinsaibashi store––with a twist. What made a comeback on November 23rd, 2023, was not a mere clothing store. It’s also a tourist magnet.
A strategy targeting tourists
A few minutes away from Dōtonbori (道頓堀), a must-go hotspot for foodie tourists, the Shinsaibashisuji shopping arcade stretches more than half a kilometer and houses 180 stores.
Here, Uniqlo opened its first domestic flagship store in 2010 after rigorously training employees for a month. Real footage from that time broadcast by MBS News shows the trainees huddling together, crouched on the floor. As they take notes, their instructor yells, “You think [you can slack off] because someone else will do it? Well, that’s the current situation.”
The pressure was on. The location guaranteed a constant flow of customers. Success depended on customer service.
Today, Uniqlo Shinsaibashi’s strategy is to win over tourists. What better way to do that than by blending in with the city they came to see?
Osaka style: kotekote-ness
Osakan aesthetics inspire the interior of Uniqlo Shinsaibashi, which the company opened on its 39th anniversary.
Vibrant neon signs. Hanshin Tigers colors––yellow and black. Osaka-born illustrator Ayano Tamuro’s art.
The store also took out advertisements in Osaka dialect (Osaka-ben): maido for farewell (まいど), ōkini for thank you (おおきに), nametara-akande for don’t underestimate me (なめたらあかんで), etc.
Every font is so densely crammed together.
An MBS reporter who saw the store exclaimed, “Wow! It’s already so kotekote (コテコテ; lavish, gaudy) at the entrance!”
On the 4th floor, tourists go crazy choosing between the nine T-shirt designs, each made in collaboration with local businesses and artists.
Bottom row (left to right): Negiyaki Yamamoto, Rikurō Ojisan no Mise, Urata Spancall, Kiyokazu Tsujino
Like many tourist-oriented locations, the store is tourist-friendly and has signs in four languages, non-Japanese staff, and tax-free registers. The background music is a Uniqlo theme song written by Osaka-born songwriter Kida Taro, aka “the Mozart of Naniwa.”
Additionally, customers can hear store announcements by Kyūji Fujikawa, retired player and current assistant of the Hanshin Tigers.
Store manager Tetsuya Kawakami says that his store aims to distinguish itself from the five other UNIQLO stores in Osaka City by incorporating the “kotekote-ness” of Osaka. Other UNIQLO locations with localized designs include Asakusa, Kichijōji, and Kyōto. The store even sells kotekote-ness on its toilet paper.
Lawsuits and positive projections
Elsewhere in the news, Uniqlo is demanding damages of about ¥160M (USD 1.1M) in its lawsuit filed on December 28th, 2023 against three companies that operate Shein: Roadget Business Pte, Fashion Choice Pte, and Shein Japan Co.
The lawsuit claims that Shein sold an “inferior” copy of its viral “Mary Poppins bag,” a shoulder bag that can hold a lot for its small size. The name refers to the 1964 Disney musical starring Julie Andrews in which a nanny pulls a lampshade and more out of her handbag.
Uniqlo projects a record profit for 2024. The company’s revenue totaled ¥890.4 billion. Its operating profit totaled ¥117.8 billion in fiscal 2023, according to parent company Fast Retailing.
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Sources
[1] Tadashi Yanai & family. Forbes
[2] Uniqlo Intends To Become The World’s Top Fashion Retailer By Distancing From H&M and Zara. Forbes
[3] 心斎橋にユニクロが帰ってくる！大阪らしさ全開の店内装飾…『観光地として楽しんで』（2023年11月21日）. MBS NEWS
[4] 【新店オープン】UNIQLO SHINSAIBASHI. UTme!
[5] ユニクロが大阪・心斎橋で「コテコテ空間」 大阪弁POPも. 日経BP
[6] えっ？マジで！？心斎橋に2つのユニクロ新名所！？. UNIQLO
[7] ユニクロが心斎橋で２店舗体制に 旧グローバル旗艦店跡に再出店. FASHIONSNAP
[8] ユニクロ 通販サイト「SHEIN」運営会社など提訴“模倣品販売”. NHK
[9] Uniqlo sues Shein over claims they copied popular ‘Mary Poppins’ shoulder bag. The Independent
[10] 11月23日オープンの新店舗「UNIQLO SHINSAIBASHI」大阪・心斎橋の新名所として登場. UNIQLO
