Target Market of Uniqlo

People’s values and mindsets on the effects of the products they use have changed immensely. We strive to take better care of our environment to ensure the longevity of our surroundings. Many companies consider various factors when it comes to manufacturing. They want to make sure their products are sustainable and less harmful after being out of use. The clothing industry is especially important to acknowledge. Usually, when clothes are sustainable, their looks are not fascinating to the consumers. But some ensure a nice style alongside sustainability. Among those brands is Uniqlo. In today’s blog, it is exactly what we are going to discuss.

To begin with, we are going to take a look at a campaign by Uniqlo.

Back in the day (this is completely intended in a sarcastic tone) Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram were the most well-known platforms. People would constantly consume all of those apps in their day-to-day lives, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Then this new application came about and most of gen Z transferred there. Targeting this generation, especially teens is smart. They not only influence parents into making different purchases but also introduce them to the platform. You guessed it we are talking about Tik Tok.

What different companies and brands do is take advantage of digital platforms. Creating their official accounts or interacting with followers, likely to become customers. That is exactly what Uniqlo did for the campaign that we are going to look at.

Going viral on Tik Tok is comparably easy. People that more or less are knowledgeable about technology are active Tik Tok users.

The app sort of encourages people to collaborate on their videos. They not only share others’ entertaining videos to various channels but also specifically reach out to each other for cooperation.

To add up, some of those videos are later shared on other platforms, such as Instagram and Tik-Tok, so there is a big potential here.

Some sources claim that young adults are addicted to Tik-Tok with an average screen time of nine minutes every time. This result is far ahead of Facebook, Tumblr, or Pinterest, which are all about five minutes. The consumers check the app roughly eight times a day.

This campaign is another way to prove that investing in ginormous digital platforms is a smart strategy. Running paid sponsorships or hosting contests is what different companies can do. For instance, a challenge that Chipotle Mexican Grill threw called “lid-flipping”, accomplished 110000 video submissions, and 104 million video starts in only its first week.

Now, Uniqlo had an even smarter idea than we can think. Being in constant contact with consumers, and building a great relationship with them is important. That is what Uniqlo had in mind.

The idea of the campaign was to challenge people to post a video of themselves with a nice Uniqlo outfit. Something interesting they put together but also something they would actually wear.

However, the company was not about to make it easy. Customers had to follow a few rules. Uniqlo wanted its consumers to appreciate the upcoming prizes which we will talk about in a second.

Firstly, the applicants had to pick their outfits from Uniqlo’s 2019 Spring and Summer collection.

Then, all they had to do was use their creativity. But another rule they had to follow was to post their videos under the hashtag and music track #UTPlayYourWorld.

And, of course, this was an opportunity for Uniqlo to seamlessly gain more following. So, the contestants had to follow the official Tik Tok account of the company as well.

People from the U.S, Japan, France, and Taiwan were open to taking part in the contest. The company announced the results just within a week after the competition.

Now, you might be wondering, ‘What was the prize?’ The most eye-catching videos were the ones that the company ended up choosing. They were later shown not only on Uniqlo’s social media accounts but also on the video screens at the stores. So you can clearly see that all parties involved had something great to gain from this awesome campaign.

Next up, we are going to analyze Uniqlo’s communication strategy.

With that being said, Uniqlo’s slogan is the following.

“Made for all”

Uniqlo is a Japanese brand. But not everybody is familiar with its backstory. The country values its local brand so much that you can see a Uniqlo store at any corner you can think of.

Uniqlo’s founder is Tadashi Yanai.

To give you a better insight into this brand’s reputation in Japan, look at it this way. While Gap is a big store chain in America with 2400 locations there, Uniqlo has 900 in Japan.

That does not seem impressive at first glance but think about the sizes of these countries. Japan is only 3% the size of The United States of America. There are over 1/3 the number of Uniqlos than Gaps in the areas under discussion. For Gap to even face comparison, it has to open 21000 new stores in the U.S.

Yanai’s family had owned a menswear shop, and after World War 2, he took over it. He wanted his bright mind to reflect on it somehow. One store was not even close to the massive goals that Yanai had in store. He planned to build an empire.

There is a wise thought that money and morality do not need to be mutually exclusive. Yanai wanted to achieve his goal without losing his values on the way. He knew that what people want to buy is far more important than what the company plans to create and sell. Hence why he added women’s clothing to the store.

By 1984, the store was officially called Unique Clothing Warehouse which later turned into Uniqlo. Not long after, Yanai started opening up more stores in the suburbs.

In the 1980s, Yanai invited Mickey Drexler, the president of Gap for breakfast. Mickey shared his marketing tactics and Tadashi took notes. He perceived Gap as a huge inspiration. He wanted to accurately copy everything from the latter company. Yanai even had advertisements identical to ones by Gap.

People preferred purchasing more affordable items and Uniqlo was at an advantage because it offered cheap goods. 10 years after Tadashi was handed the initially small company of his father, there were 100 Uniqlo stores in Japan.

However, the path that Uniqlo followed was not always smooth. When Yanai was finally ready to start opening stores outside of Japan, he faced a massive failure. New Uniqlo stores were established in London, and New Jersey totaling the number of 21. There were some factors that the company failed to pay attention to.

One of them was the sizing. The average Japanese man and woman are much smaller than average American adults. So Americans would continue shopping from cheap American companies. In a matter of 18 months, Uniqlo closed 16 of its London and 3 of its New Jersey stores.

This collapse taught Uniqlo a lesson. Uniqlo was universal in Japan, just like Gap and Starbucks were in the U.S. But for thriving in foreign markets, Uniqlo had to also have a signature style, something fresh, different, and cool.

Yanai’s goal was to achieve a breakthrough in big cities like New York, and London.

Not long after, that turned into a reality and now there is a Uniqlo store in SoHo, a luxurious New York district. This location gets one of the greatest deals of profits in the world.

This company is not focused on selling fashionable items. Rather Uniqlo mostly puts basic needs out there such as jeans, sweaters, and jackets. That makes it fair that a Uniqlo piece is not particularly special.

However, because its prices are very low, people love it. For example, a few years ago, Uniqlo traded a pair of jeans for only $9.90.

This long story was told to justify the slogan choice of Uniqlo. The products that this company sells are made for all. Anyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, etc. can find whatever they are searching for.

As a result of hard work and thoughtful tactics, today Uniqlo is the third-largest fashion brand.

Last but not least we are going to unravel the segment that Uniqlo has chosen to target.

Let’s take a look at this commercial to help us with that.

This video is advertising one of Uniqlo’s special products, a winter coat. Staying warm from the cold weather is far more than just a fashion choice. In the video, different people go outside or are already walking somewhere, and somehow magically they appear to be wearing a nice jacket.

We see that the style fits both men and women. And the coat also comes in various colors.

Another addition that the jacket has is a storage pouch. So you can carry it everywhere you go, without having a ton of things hanging from your hands.

So what does this ad tell us?

There are not that many hints that we get from it but if we watch it carefully enough we will realize some stuff.

For example, there is a segment that values freedom greatly. Being able to carry a coat as a backpack is a very convenient contribution to independence. Sometimes purses and bags get exhausting to use especially for busy people that are out and about. Holding a million things at once is never a freeing feeling.

The second hint that we were lucky to pick up is how different all the characters in the video are. One of them is in a cafe, another is at the beach, and someone else is simply on a walk. Thus, these people enjoy participating in various activities that tend to be incredibly different.

What we have gathered is that the segment that Uniqlo has chosen to target is Carpe Diems.

What do we know about them?

Lifestyle and values:

Carpe Diems simply want to live an enjoyable life. The definition of enjoyable varies for different people. For one person it is going to a luxurious cafe, and for another, it is working out. A great contribution to this segment’s interests is taking risks and being adventurous.

Another thing that this segment’s life is centered around is a successful career.

Carpe Diems value freedom to a great extent and money can make that happen. Being financially stable enough to invest in any desire is important.

On their way to success, Carpe Diems are likely to make many sacrifices. One of those can even be spending limited time with family and friends. Nothing is holding Carpe Diems back from the desired success.

This segment’s ambition makes it so they are incredibly smart. They do their best to be alert to changes regarding technology, music, fashion, etc.

And, of course, Carpe Diems regularly go to the gym and consume as healthy of foods as possible.

Attitude to shopping:

If they earn a good amount of money and have high standards of life, it is easy to infer that Carpe Diems are brand-oriented. They do not hesitate to put some extra money into purchasing luxury goods. They care about not the quantity but the quality. That is the thought that mostly applies to their shopping style.

Once Carpe Diems find a brand they like, they will rarely try anything new. They stay pretty loyal to their favorite companies.

Shopping is also a part of their lifestyle. This segment loves shopping so a lot of their free time is spent on it.

Other interesting facts:

Carpe Diems​ are interested in pretty much everything. They love partying, going to the cinema, visiting museums, reading, etc. This segment has knowledge in every field you can think of.

We hope you enjoyed this blog where we discussed the famous Japanese brand called Uniqlo. We talked about its strategies for staying successful. We did a deeper dive as far as going back in history, to exploring a campaign and the segment that the company has chosen to target. For learning more about this and other companies, make sure to visit our main website!