Focus: Uniqlo revives Jil Sander tie-up in post-pandemic, upmarket push
12/11/2020 23:00
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By Ritsuko Ando
TOKYO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Baggy pants and oversized t-shirts
helped spare Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo from the steep
coronavirus-led fall in sales that hit rival fashion chains such
as H&M and Zara.
Now, Uniqlo founder and CEO Tadashi Yanai has shifted his
sights to post-pandemic consumer spending, and he's betting that
the world's third-biggest clothing chain will need to sell more
than comfortable roomwear and 2,900 yen ($27.50) down vests to
achieve his dream of making it No. 1.
On Friday, Uniqlo will begin selling a new collection that
revives a popular tie-up with German minimalist designer Jil
Sander, with looks and prices beyond the store's usual lineup.
Dubbed "+J", the partnership comes over a decade
after Uniqlo's first collaboration with Sander helped to bolster
the fashion credentials of the Japanese chain best known at the
time for its cheap and colourful fleece jackets.
The latest +J collection includes tailored blazers,
cashmere-wool blended coats, and Supima cotton dress shirts for
both sexes, mostly in black, navy, burgundy and white.
The shift upmarket will give Uniqlo a new sales avenue but
is not without risk, coming at a time when Japan, the chain's
biggest single market, is stuck in recession with consumers
worried about a prolonged pandemic.
The new collection's wool-cashmere blend coats, at 22,900
yen, rank among the highest-priced items in Uniqlo history.
Few other Uniqlo items currently cost over 20,000 yen, with
a padded parka from Uniqlo U, a relatively fashion-forward
collection directed by French designer Christophe LeMaire, now
on sale for under 6,000 yen.
HIGH PRICE TAGS
On Twitter, many Uniqlo fans expressed excitement about the
return of its collaboration with Sanders, a design legend, but
just as many lamented the high price tags.
"It's very difficult to move upmarket. People have a very,
very strong opinion about what prices they want to pay when it
comes to Uniqlo and those prices are out of that range," said
Mike Allen, an analyst covering Japanese retailers at Jefferies.
Some analysts also cited unsuccessful attempts by other
casual brands that have tried to go upmarket, including J.Crew,
which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. A shift towards a
higher price bracket is often blamed by analysts for hastening
J.Crew's decline.
But many see little other choice for Uniqlo as competition
intensifies, including from previously unknown names like
Chinese online brand Shein that have emerged in a now-recovered
China market.
In Japan, Workman 7564.T , previously a favourite of
construction and factory workers, is moving into general
fashion. Globally, Uniqlo also faces tough competition from
outdoor and sports brands such as North Face and Nike NKE.N .
Surveys have found that Uniqlo clothes already make up at
least one out of 10 items in the average Japanese wardrobe.
"It's going to be difficult to expand market share further,
so they need another channel, and that's higher-priced
merchandise," Jefferies' Allen said.
THE L-WORD
Nicole Fall, the founder of consultancy Asian Consumer
Intelligence, said the new collection was well-timed as people
want to appear professional when they return to their offices,
"particularly as unemployment creeps up and further retrenchment
exercises are carried out."
A focus on quality over low prices was also in line with the
industry's post-pandemic shift away from fast fashion, she
added.
"The business model cannot sustain low volume and low prices
but it can evolve to fewer pieces at a slightly higher price
point, particularly if the items are associated with the
prestige Jil Sander name," Fall said.
Yanai, while maintaining his ambition of making Uniqlo owner
Fast Retailing 9983.T the world's biggest clothing company,
has recently been telling investors that the company wants to
focus on clothes made to last, with innovative fabrics and
attention to details like zippers and buttons, rather than
churning out high volumes of on-trend items.
In an interview with Wallpaper, Sander, who no longer runs
the eponymous brand she founded, described +J as a "shop window
for Uniqlo to show what level of luxury the company can
achieve."
But Uniqlo executives deny they're aiming for luxury.
"What we want to provide is something authentic, something
crafted to perfection... and offer it not just to a certain
segment but to everyone," said Yukihiro Katsuta, head of
Uniqlo's R&D.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; editing by Richard Pullin)
((Ritsuko.Ando@reuters.com; +81 3 6441 1743;))