• On May 26th 2019, I went to Uniqlo around 12:00pm. I noticed there were many people who shopped there, ranging from different genders and age as Uniqlo offers products that appeals to all types of consumers in this market. Uniqlo’s clothing tends to be cheap in order to make it affordable for everyone, but that can also mean the production cost has to be low for the company to make a profit, thus people who manufacture these garments could be underpaid.

Uniqlo advertisements

• Uniqlo’s advertisements truly targets a wide range of consumers. Depending on which area of the store you are in, the advertisements could be targeting towards kids/toddlers, with posters of kids wearing the garments that is displaying in store.
• The advertisement includes all gender/race to avoid discrimination and it’s usually very minimalistic as that is what the brand is trying to go for.

Environment

• Personally, I found the store to be very busy, especially during the weekends as that is when people don’t have to work. The store tends to be quite chaotic, as they always have sales for different products on top of the cheap prices they offer, thus I always try to leave as early as possible since I hate it when the store is overcrowded with people.

Designs

• I always go to Uniqlo to buy t-shirts as they offer a wide variety of different colours. The colours I see are always very monotone and the designs are very minimalistic, indicating that the garments they sell always only have one colour or just have a picture on it.
• The simplistic designs allows the consumers to layer their outfits with ease, thus many people go to Uniqlo for their essentials when it comes to fashion.

• The simplistic design of their garments is what attracts many consumers, as they are able to match their own clothes with the one offered by Uniqlo.
• The texture of Uniqlo’s garment is very soft, as they are made up of polyester and cotton, and I find the clothes they offer to be quite durable and comfortable as well.
• Some elements of design I saw at the store was contrasting colours, some of the mannequins were wearing light coloured t-shirts with dark coloured pants.

SOUND + smell

• At the store, I can hear many people having conversations at once, and with the fact that the store does not play music, I find the chaotic environment to be very displeasing.
• The smell is different depending on which part of the store you are in. While I was there, near the front entrance there was a strong smell of coffee as Starbucks was right across from the store.
• Near the back of the store, the smell of wood was more relevant because of the wooden floor implemented as the base of the store.

Store Structure

• The predominate material in the store is glass with wooden floors, as it attracts consumer outside of the store to see what the clothes look like on a mannequin. I find this marketing tactic to be quite smart, as you are able to identify the latest line up of clothes they sell from a distance.

Online Presence + factories

• The prices of the product they sell tends to be very low in order to attract a wide range of consumers. The quality of the product they produce tends is quite good, as they are very durable and will last according to the reviews and personal experiences.
• Uniqlo’s online presence is quite strong because of the collaboration of the company does with other brands/designers. Uniqlo would always announce their upcoming collaborations with other brands such as designer “Kaws” on twitter and instagram, thus gaining attraction of many consumers as the product they sell are only limited during a certain period of time.

The Untold truth of Uniqlo’s factories

• Uniqlo’s labour rating is quite poor according to the 2018 ethic fashion report because of the low payment of living wages. The factories at which the workers work in is subpar and the conditions aren’t terrible depending on which part of the country the factory is from. However the workers there are severely underpaid, former Indonesian worker claims that many workers are forced to working over time and only earn 8000 rupiah (USD $ 0.50) per hour, on top of the 1.8 million rupiah (US $120) per month.

• According to a report in October 2016 by Organization War on Want, it claims that Uniqlo is hiding human rights abuses behind ethical claims to avoid backlash from communities. Furthermore, Uniqlo’s factory at Bangladesh does not offer proper safety equipments for workers as they try to minimize cost as much as possible.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, my visit at Uniqlo was quite unpleasant as I personally dislike the loud noises and overcrowded environment. Although the minimalistic designs and collaboration with other brands is something I like, after researching about the labour rights, factories, and what goes on behind the scenes I will think twice before shopping there from now on.

Bibliography

“How Ethical Is Uniqlo?” Good On You, 27 May 2019, goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-uniqlo/.

“Uniqlo Exploited Us, Now It Ignores Us, Indonesian Workers Say.” South China Morning Post, 26 Oct. 2018, http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2169836/uniqlo-exploited-us-now-it-ignores-us-indonesian-factory-workers.