Ch6, Costomers Decision Making

The costomers have consumer decision making process for each. As the managers must need to know  and understand the process which is consumer behavior.
I'll explain it as Uniqlo's costomer.
First of all, Need recognition. There are so many advertisement on the train and bus, the billboard, onTV as commercial  or on the internet screen. When seeing the ads, people read it, think about it and then have an impulse to purchase the product. Then they recognize it is their want. In addition, if people see the ads which shows the popular person uses the products or the price down or sale information like the picture, their impulses are stronger.





Secondly, Information search. After people recognized what is their want, they search more information in the internet or outside. If people use internet, they can see not only the product's home page but also criticism on another page and they know how much they want it though the searching.

Thirdly, Evaluation of Alternatives and purchase. After searching information about what they want, they are ready to buy the products so they go to the store and buy the products. In addition, Uniqlo has online shopping on its home page, so if people who don't have enough time to go to the store feel an impulse to buy the product through the process, they can get it on line. 

Finally, Postpurchase behavior. This is how people feel satisfied after purchasing. If the satisfaction is bigger, then the customer tend to continue buying the brand's product.

The customer behavior is very important for managers. 

Ch2. strategic planning for competitive advantage

Uniqlo is known as low cost clothing store. This is one of the strategic planning of Uniqlo.
Uniqlo has the coherent business model which does from planing and manufacture to saling by itself. That called SPA. A big strategy  is that Uniqlo has own factory. Therefore Uniqlo can sale their products to castmer with low cost. In addition, its clothing is high quality. The two strategy are a key to compete with another company in clothing market.
Let me introduce their high quality products.
First of all, as you know, it is HEATTECH. HEATTECH has some characteristics such as keeping warm, protecting from static electricity, made of stretch raw materials and antibacterial. It was the first product as clothing has these characteristic in clothing market. It iswell known as high quality clothing with low cost since it started to be sold in store in 2003. This revolutionary hit connected Uniqlo's amount sold. In fact, In 2011 HEATTECH sold more than 1 million. Uniqlo expanded share in clothing market.
Uniqlo publishes that its concept is "lifewear". That means Uniqlo's products fit all people in the world because these are basic clothing such as swears or fleeces. Therfore, HEATTECH is a representative product in Uniqlo now.








The other high quality product is "AIRism". It is an inner which take away sweat from boby and keep dry and also protect from getting a cold by sweat. It is also a hit items in Uniqlo.
Unilqlo competes with these high quality products with other companies in clothing market.

Ch5. Developing a global vision

Uniqlo, today, has 446 stores in the world and amount sold of stores in foreign country accounts.
30% of all amount sold. CEO Tadsshi Yanai said the goal is a apparel clothing company from Asia and the Uniqlo foreign project cross over the Uniqlo Japan project. The first global store is a store in SOHO, NY in 2006. It has passed 8 years since then, now the objective of amount stores in the world is 632 stores.
As the CEO Yanai said, the economic development area was in the United State but now the area is moving to in Asia and Asia has wealthy today. Uniqlo must get this historical turning point as a big chance to be global company. Uniqlo is Japanese company in Asia  so it has a advantage that it deeply knows about the situations of anyother Asia country comparing with the USA and Europe companies, H&M, ZARA and GAP. Using this advantage, Uniqlo can keep a predominance position than theses foreign clothing companies. Also he said that today the United State is the area which has a high expectation value because especially in west side there are a lot of Asian people and it's like small Asia market. Therefore, Uniqlo shouldn't miss the market and the objective of the amount of stores in west and east side in the USA is 100 stores for each side. 

As global marketing, Uniqlo is doing  collaboration with some artists. For example, it's saling some clothing designed byJil Sander and the clothing is know as fashionable collection.

Ch4. The marketing environment

Uniqlo is known as low price and high quality designed clothes for everybody, around from 5 to 50. This is true. This company was a small clothing store for only men as national brand in Yamagichi in 1984. Then they sold clothing as unisex with the name which is "Unique Clothing Warehouse". It got a superior factory in China and made a model of saling, SPA like GAP. SPA is special store retailer of private label apparel which means that make clothing with low cost so it can sake them with low price to customers. Uniqlo still now does from planning, production distribution to saling by itself so it can sale clothes which is high quality with low price. The low price is known as good for family financially and then its target is wide like from child to old people.
At same time, Uniqlo is competing with making own unique designed clothing in market. It results having many custamers. For example, HEATTECK is one of its unique items. It is the clothe keeping warm and getting sweat out so keeping fresh and warm, which is that other clothing company doesn't have. 



Also Uniqlo tries to be global clothing brand. It started from New York in 2006 when it opened a first store in another county. Then it continue opening stores in other country and now it has stores in not only Asia but also Europe and The united state.

These points are Uniqlo's marketing environment.

ch3. ethics&social responsibility

Uniqlo said about ethics and social responsibility that act as people on the earth who have an high moral value like changing the world with clothing. It is working more than 10 volunteer activities for environment problems and refugees and children.

 This is one of these activities, " clothes for smiles". It is a common proposal with Novak Djokovic who is a famous tennis player in the world. It has fund of a million from sales of Heattech and Ultralightdown.
 One way to use the fund is giving children in the world dreams. For example, it did that giving children shopping experiences in Serbia. It established a special shop in Serbia and children could choose which clothes they want and get it. This has two goals that let children know that they can whoever they image as aspect of psychology, and giving them clothes for living as aspect of physical.
 The another way to use the fund is volunteer with UNICEF. For example, it is used for the activity that making a school for children in Bangladeshi.

Another activity is support activity                    
for an earthquake, 311, in Japan.
It opened a store in the affected area
where doesn't have a rehabilitation,
does volunteer with NGO and contributes

clothes which valuable 3.3 millions.

Ch1. History and Mission Statement

Hi. 

This is MARIN YAMADA's blog about Uniqlo company in fall semester 2014.

Let me tell you about the company first.

Uniqlo Co., Ltd. is a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer. The company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. since November 2005, and is listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In addition to Japan, the company operates in Australia, Bangladesh, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia,Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

This company's origins in japan.

Uniqlo in Ginza, Tokyo.

Since March 1949, a Yamaguchi-based company, Ogori Shōji existed in Ube, Yamaguchi.

In May 1984, they opened a unisex casual wear store in Fukuro-machi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima under the name "Unique Clothing Warehouse". It was at this time that the name "Uniqlo" was born, as a contraction of "unique clothing". In September 1991, the name of the company was changed from "Ogori Shōji" to "Fast Retailing", and by April 1994, there were over 100 Uniqlo stores operating throughout Japan.

In 1997, Fast Retailing adopted a set of strategies from American retailer The Gap, known as "SPA" (for specialty-store/retailer of private-label apparel), meaning that they would produce their own clothing and sell it exclusively. Uniqlo had begun outsourcing their clothing manufacturing to factories in China where labour was cheap, a well-established corporate practice. Japan was in the depths ofa recession at the time, and the low-cost goods proved popular. Their advertising campaigns also proved fruitful.

In November 1998, they opened their first urban Uniqlo store in Tokyo’s trendy Harajuku district, and outlets soon spread to major cities throughout Japan. In 2001, sales turnover and gross profit reached a new peak, with over 500 retail stores in Japan. When Uniqlo decided to expand overseas, it separated Uniqlo from the parent company, and established Fast Retailing (Jiangsu) Apparel Co., Ltd. in China. In 2002 their first Chinese Uniqlo outlet was opened in Shanghai along with four overseas outlets in London,England.

But sales did not go well in England, and stocks in Japanese warehouses were overflowing. In 2002 and 2003, Uniqlo profits dropped sharply.In 2004, the company began joint ventures with Japanese fashion magazines, and hired such celebrities as Norika Fujiwara to appear in commercials. They teamed up with new designers, and profits rose, including at London outlets. The acquisition of other fashion companies by Fast Retailing also helped the struggling company get back on its feet.

Uniqlo in Shinsaibashi,Osaka.

2005 saw more overseas expansion, with stores opening in the United States (New York), Hong Kong(Tsim Sha Tsui) and South Korea (Seoul), their South Korean expansion being part of a joint venture withLotte. As of year-end 2005, in addition to its overseas holdings, Uniqlo had around 700 stores within Japan.By 2006 sales were $4 billion. By April 2007, the company had set a global sales goal of $10 billion and a ranking among the top five global retailers, joining what at the time was Gap,H&M, Inditex, and Limited Brands.

Fast Retailing signed a design consulting contract for Uniqlo products with fashion designer Jil Sander in March 2009. Shiatzy Chen has been approached by Uniqlo to produce a capsule collection of ready to wear pieces to launch in November 2010 while Asia's largest Uniqlo store outside Japan opened its doors in Kuala Lumpur in the same month.

UNIQLO.yamada