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Tuesday 18 October 2011

Uniqlo - Leading the Way

You've probably all been drawn in by Uniqlo at one time or another. Maybe it was their decent prices for quality clothing or those great rucksacks a few years ago, maybe it was the +J gear or even the Japanese denim for less that £20. For me it was all that and their amazing online presence that drew me in. They have an air of confidence which seems to be a million miles away from arrogant or pretentious. 


They launched a micro site a few weeks ago for the launch of their Uniqlo INNOVATION PROJECT. The site is built in flash which initially annoyed me but after it loads you fully understand why its built in flash. Go to 'Select Styles' and marvel at its slickness...

Screen shot 2011-10-18 at 12.16.57


Anyway what I want to talk about with this post is their use of temporary space. I was in New York a couple of weeks ago and we happened to stumble across Antlantic Antic which is a festival in Brooklyn that attracts over 1 million people. Very similar vibe to Nottinghill Carnival but more about the culture. As we walked down Atlantic Avenue passing the food and art stalls and live music I clocked these pods from Uniqlo...

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They were literally dotted along the street, they couldn't have been any bigger than the storage containers we see here in the UK. Inside was a refined selection of Uniqlo's offering, mainly t-shirts and coats but perfect for the clientele in the area on that day. The set up was also on point, they didn't just get some vinyl stickers and take over someone elses space this is you can see from my pictures is all custom built.

Again what impressed was that it seemed so natural for Uniqlo, no hype whatsoever. It just made sense and worked. All the talk that month was about the brand new Uniqlo Global Flagship Store opening on 5th Av but the brand didn't forget about the people who actually rely on Uniqlo for cheap quality clothing.


Like I said a few months ago Unqlo is a brand of the people!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

More about the culture than Nottingham Carnival ? Have a word mate...

dubtap said...

Interesting to see how different their product range and presentation is now to when they first arrived; used to do denim in huge sizes like 44waist and presented as a 'salaryman' brand.

@OllieDanger said...

Fall back friend.

Firstly I have no idea or care what NottingHAM Carnival is about.

Secondly this event was aimed at an older crowd and families distinctively different to London's Nottinghill Carnival.

Allow your beggance.

@OllieDanger said...

I remember when they launched in the UK and they had stores up and down the country that lasted around 3 months. Been interesting to watch over the years.

Percy Ingle said...

you can't say Nottinghill carnival isnt about culture though....just because it isnt full of art tossers tossing over art....
its probably the realest experience of culture you can get

@OllieDanger said...

Nottinghall Carnival is an incredible event (one of the best in the world imo (see my posts year on year)). Probably the biggest cultural event in the UK. I'm not taking anything away from that!

The Brooklyn event was a different carnival that featured a lot more offerings than just music (i know NC does too but Brooklyn had more of a variety.)