Uniqlo Mini Situation

Sally James

MINI SITUATION UNIQLO

1. Who are Uniqlo's competitors?

Their biggest competitors are GAP and American Apparel. GAP puts a large emphasis on basic clothing with a relatively affordable price just like Uniqlo. American Apparel provides customers with a wide variety of colors of basic items, again at an affordable price. A couple others could be Zara and TopShop, however these two are more focused on a fashion forward approach whereas Uniqlo is going for a more casual style.

1. Who is Uniqlo's target customer in the US?

The target audience is both male and female ages 18-24 years old, typically in college looking for an affordable brand with a wide variety of casual, stylish and trendy clothing.

1. Has Uniqlo been able to penetrate the US markets it has expanded to? Why or why not?

The first thing I thought about when I saw this question was that I have never heard of Uniqlo before this class, so therefore they must not be doing a good job. Further analysis and research brought me to the conclusion that they have so far done what they want to accomplish. They have 39 stores in the US and they have established a “foothold in a number of key locations along the East and West Coasts” (Larry Meyer-CEO). They have plans to expand into smaller cities such as Seattle, Northern Virginia, Denver Toronto, Chicago, and DC. They have been getting sales from states that don’t have any stores such as Hawaii, and have been expanding their social media presence.

1. Uniqlo has a distinct brand goal. Do they achieve this in their new US locations?

Uniqlo strives to have a modern and bright feel, with “world class customer service” and every day basics of exceptional value. All of their stores maintain a crisp and modern white background base color, which allows their bright colored clothing to pop in the stores. Therefore, yes Uniqlo does achieve their brand goal in their new US stores