Growing up in Asia, I could see Uniqlo almost in every shopping mall. In one of Jennifer Sanantha‘s blogs, she mentioned how Uniqlo thrives through providing affordable but good quality of clothing that does not follow any fashion trend. Time to time, being out of trend has become a new trend that symbolizes Uniqlo. Jennifer suggested that Uniqlo succeed by identifying a niche market.
Although I agree with Uniqlo being differentiated and accessible would contribute to most of its profit, I doubt if it is really doing well in the highly competitive clothing industry.
As a consumer myself, I would choose a brand that is more trendy but also affordable. For example, H&M offers a wide variety of clothing, ranging from basics to fashions and to formals, and a even lower price than Uniqlo. I also examined that this same behavior, or choice, happening among my friends.
After more research, I found out that Uniqlo is actually underperforming in the U.S. What is impeding Uniqlo from succeeding in the foreign market? Forbes says it is the competition against fast fashion chains and personalization in the U.S. But I would say it is the ambiguity of its business strategy. Uniqlo is providing affordable clothing and also trying to differentiate itself by being off the trend. Cost leadership is targeted on a broad market where as focus strategy (differentiation) is targeted on a narrowed segment. I would suggest Uniqlo to pursue the later choice, since more and more clothing companies are able to offer lower prices nowadays. Sticking with a niche market might give Uniqlo another chance to strive in the apparel industry.
