Trends in Japan » Uniqlo’s UT shop becoming…a Uniqlo?

Uniqlo’s UT shop becoming…a Uniqlo?

Written by: Michael Keferl on September 16, 2007 at 5:42 am | In Fashion & Lifestyle Trends |

For a guy like me who wears jeans and t-shirts almost everywhere, having a broad selection is a necessity. Being past the “ironic t-shirt” phase of my geek life, Japanese clothes brand Uniqlo has been a trusty source of decent shirts that don’t cost more than twelve bucks.

Three years ago, getting a Uniqlo t-shirt meant getting the same Andy Warhol banana shirt as everyone else, but their foray into limited editions made them into a relatively cool brand. The debut of the the UT shop in Harajuku sealed the deal.

uniqlo-ut-store-1

The UT shop’s attraction was that it was full of shirts, and only shirts. Lots of them, and with a cool touchscreen menu to find them in their plastic tubes. Now, the UT store is making the next logical step and including jeans and jackets to go with the shirts. A smart move perhaps, but that opens up a question: Why stop there?

uniqlo-ut-store-2

Don’t people need socks too? And belts for the jeans? Underwear? The UT shop may be slowly moving from t-shirts-only to being a hip Uniqlo, and possibly pushing the brand in two directions: Hip stores for jeans and t-shirts, and relatively conservative stores for everything else. It’s hard to fill three floors with only t-shirts, so this may be the natural progression, but the presence of anything besides t-shirts completely changes the atmosphere.

There certainly seems to be less customers these days at UT, so the novelty may have already worn off. In addition, an increasingly eco-conscious Japanese society may not be too comfortable getting each t-shirt in a thick plastic container. Perhaps they could work on a similar concept, but on a paper-bag model and using “green” materials and design?

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Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends
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when first visiting the store this summer, my friend asked me “who the hell is going to buy t-shirts in the winter time ? this can’t work all year long”. Well, I agree with you Sven there are customers for the winter time : I also wear tees all year.
So went back last week-end. Although I got a pair of jeans, I was so disappointed by the very limited tees offer, lack of novelty …
So, is UT already its expiring date ?

Comment by m2t — October 2, 2007 #
[...] no stranger to digital integration with shopping and branding, casual fashion (and T-Shirt innovator) Uniqlo is now working directly with web and mobile companies to further brand themselves as modern [...]

Pingback by Trends in Japan » Uniqlo continues into digital territory — March 27, 2008 #
What is the telephone number for this store? I would like to order online but can’t read the Japanese online order form. Do you know the number? Thanks.

Comment by Karen — March 31, 2008 #
These are the best t-shirts!!! They are so soft. I wonder what they are made out of?

Comment by From Ohio — May 28, 2008 #
I make the coolest greenest t shirt on earth and yes, it comes with zero packaging.
Can you hook me up with UT?

Comment by robert — July 25, 2008 #