May 3, 2008
Japan Today has a piece (from Kyodo News) that looks at the challenges MUJI faces in trying to expand in the US (”the company [...] is committed to opening 30 to 40 stores across the United States in the next five years”).
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No commentary on what you think will happen with Muji in North America?
Something tells me they’ll do ok in the urban areas where Japan is cool with upper middle class hipsters. Not sure how much anyone outside of urban areas cares about a “no brand brand”. It might sound a little pretentious (and expensive) to many average U.S. consumers.
I find it hard to comment on this, because I’ve been away from North America for so long that I often think that I don’t really have a good feel for what people like, want, etc. Pretty much everyone that I meet who visits Tokyo seems to love MUJI though, so you’d think it could do well. But I think what you say makes sense, it can be successful in the big cities, but I don’t think the average American will care for MUJI over Walmart, especially since I’m guessing MUJI goods aren’t as cheap in the US (here, MUJI is seen as a budget store, with a good sense of design).
Muji’s prices seem to be higher overseas, so it might not fall so much in the “budget” category as it does here.
Its no way a budget brand in the UK, its more the place to go if you want simple/basic and quality and don’t mind paying a bit for it.
They do have the odd cheap item though like £10 wok sets but then a lot of £5/7 for a single bowl
Muji can make it in the U.S. only in certain parts of the country …in urban areas and that is what they should focus on. If they spread too far wide then they will run into problems that’s why I worry when they sell they want to target the general market, there are many established companies already (Crate and Barrel, Ikea, etc…) Bape just opened a branch in LA so they did their homework and know the kind of market they’are aiming for. There’s definitely room for growth in the U.S. for Muji if they open selectively.
Another thing about Muji is their Muji Xmas campaigns are getting stale and they need to change the music. :) In some of the Tokyo stores there’s not much selection
In the end it was about time Muji opened in the U.S. having crossed the globe. If they didn’t open now it would definitely be harder and more expensive in the future when competitors start selling the Muji lifestyle. At the same time the Japan market is saturated and the population trend is shifting towards an older population.
I love MUJI, but I think 30 to 40 stores is too ambitious. Al makes a good point about Crate and Barrel and Ikea being competitors, but I think even more who the competitors would be in the U.S. is Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. Actually there’s hardly a crossover at all in style with them even though it may be the same demographic that they are competing for. So, will the true competition actually be somewhere between a university bookstore and a museum shop… with a tad bit of Design Within Reach and Club Monaco from Canada?