SINGAPORE - FDNMARK V24

Armedilla, Isaac Bernabe, Patricia Branoco, Christian

Cerdena, Rica Ignacio, Abigail Piernes, Angela

UNIQLO in the Philippines

1. What is in the Country of Origin theory that will justify why Uniqlo is popular in the Philippines?

Uniqlo is a clothing company founded in Japan in the year 1949. According to Durisin (2013), the
company is considered to be the biggest clothing retailer in Asia ever since it boosted in the previous decade.
Moreover, the Japanese clothing company has become the greatest competitor of retailers globally. It started
out in the suburbs of Japan, offering affordable and quality of apparel in a wide array of colors. Today, Uniqlo
operates across 16 countries with 818 stores worldwide (Fast Retailing, 2019).

According to Juneja (2015), the theory of Country of Origin (COO) refers to how the association of
brands with countries influences the consumer’s attitudes, perceptions and purchase intentions and
decisions, thus offering a competitive advantage. For instance, people tend to associate quality products with
Japanese brands such as Uniqlo. However, one of the primary challenges the brand faced before was the
perception of consumers to the brand. People viewed Uniqlo to be a discount retailer in the suburbs that
offers cheap and low-quality apparel (Martin Roll, 2019). Uniqlo has been in the Philippines since 2012 and
for 6 years, the brand is continuously expanding having 60 retail stores and 1 flagship store across the country
providing quality, design, and innovation to Filipino consumers. With this, the question arises as to why Uniqlo
is popular in the Philippines which the theory of country of origin answers. Japan is the COO of Uniqlo.
Additionally, Japan is known worldwide as a country that has a culture that integrates both traditional and
modern cultures. Japan is an advantage for Uniqlo as the brand’s COO since their culture is being greatly
valued by the market, thus using the country as a value proposition for them to enter across different markets.

Today, Filipinos perceive Japan as a country of “quality” (Sarile, 2018). Filipino consumers view their
products to be having a far better quality in comparison to the products from different countries. Thus, it can,
therefore, be concluded that Uniqlo is popular and patronized in the Philippines mainly because of the
Filipino’s perception of Japan as having “quality” and “prestige”, thus making it easier for Uniqlo to penetrate
to the Philippine market. Uniqlo has established a flagship store in the Philippines, and according to John
Jay, the president of global creative for Fast Retailing, it’s not simply a retail store but also an
acknowledgment of the importance of the Philippines and Asia in Uniqlo's big picture. In addition, Jay (2018)
stated, “Getting people to buy our stuff is one challenge. Getting people to understand and embrace our
principles is what would take time.” Uniqlo’s success in the Philippines is undeniable, being characterized by
having an impressive company culture, strong leadership, and consistent market growth.
(2) Prepare a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats) for Uniqlo.

UNIQLO built a globally common marketing mix. The brand was able to establish a strong market
presence in 1300 stores in fifteen countries. With its retail line embodying the idea of unique clothing,
it has regarded itself to be the same product and the same pricing regardless of borders.
1. UNIQLO’s country of origin is one of the main selling points of the product. Japan is a country
S of culture both integrating conservative and modern-world values. Across the fifteen
countries that UNIQLO is present, Japanese culture is embedded in every apparel shop.
T This culture is shown through their price tags, logo and even their sales personnel emanate
the brand’s country of origin.
R 2. One of the key strengths of UNIQLO is its emphasizing quality regardless of the social class
it caters to. This is further manifested in Japan to Philippines comparison. Japan is a country
E with a very strong market presence and UNIQLO is viewed as casual wear for the mass. The
Philippines, moreover, has a prestige view of the brand. It is mostly worn by the upper-
N income class as casual wear and bought as gifts usually for anniversaries and birthdays by
G the middle class.
3. Additionally, UNIQLO has a standardized marketing strategy. It offers the same products at
T the same prices everywhere. It also uses global flagship shops as an advertisement. This
creates a better perception of the brand thus creating a ripple effect when it comes to
H consumer preference.
4. The brand also recognizes that there is a need to adapt, although minimal in a culture. In the
S Philippine setting, older people are highly valued and taken care of. In their local branches,
they provide special chairs for the older as their company shops. In the communications
area, most of the people in the Philippines are social media savvies, hence, UNIQLO’s
marketing strategy is now media-focused.

W
While standardization is directly correlated to UNIQLO’s success, it can also be a challenge for them.
E
A 1. As with standardization, they are imploring the same marketing mix overseas, in foreign
markets. This can potentially take time for the company to set a market presence for a certain
K country for they might not be able to fit well with the needs or what a certain culture influences
N a cluster of people to buy.
E 2. Moreover, there is a noticeable discrepancy in their product offerings. They offer a lesser
variety of products but with a significant amount. For instance, one shirt design will have a
S lot of it available. Consumers want assortment but UNIQLO tends to produce a lot of shirts
S in just one design. This will only add up to their inventory and incur additional costs.
E
S
O
P
P
O 1. Since UNIQLO has proven to be a strong brand, there is a forecasted increase in demand
R as consumers’ regard it as a brand of quality. The brand may opt to reasonably increase
T their consumer availability by increasing the number of its shops.
2. The brand may also use root on the purchasing influences that the digital age brings. By
U carefully producing media content that aims to persuade people to repeat the purchase of
N its products, the company will maintain its strong market presence.
I 3. UNIQLO may strengthen more their brand by venturing into other countries and introducing
T their global marketing mix with Japan being their country of origin as the heart of it.
I
E
S

1. While digital age is in itself a portal to reach customers, it can be threatening for the brand
T as well. Considering that UNIQLO is a product that relies on more on its apparel shops for
H consumer availability, online shops can potentially influence their sales. Online shopping can
be done through sitting and it has less cost since online stores do not have warehouses.
R Moreover, at any time of the day consumers can shop whenever they want online and find
E items that are less costly that the items UNIQLO has. The brand must be able to approach
the emergence of online shopping strategically.
A 2. Fashion and fads come and go. Consumers’ preferences change in an instant. This fast-
T paced fashion norm must be dealt with strongly by the brand. They must be able to keep up
with what the consumer needs and have an offer to arguably every fashion preference of
S somebody who plans to go casual.
 References

Durisin, M. (2013). How Clothing Chain Uniqlo Is Taking Over The World. Retrieved 8 November 2019,
from https://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-of-uniqlo-2013-4

How do Filipino people feel about the Japanese?. (2018). Retrieved 8 November 2019, from
https://www.quora.com/How-do-Filipino-people-feel-about-Japanese

Japan | FAST RETAILING CO., LTD. (2019). Retrieved 8 November 2019, from
https://www.fastretailing.com/eng/group/strategy/japan.html

Juneja, P. (2015). Country of Origin Effects on Marketing. Retrieved 8 November 2019, from
https://www.managementstudyguide.com/country-of-origin-effects-on-marketing.htm

Olanday, C. (2018). What It Really Means To Have The Biggest Uniqlo Store In Southeast Asia Here In
Manila. Retrieved 8 November 2019, from https://www.esquiremag.ph/style/fashion/uniqlo-
flagship-store-manila-a00202-20181005-lfrm

Uniqlo - The Strategy Behind The Japanese Fast Fashion Retail Brand. (2019). Retrieved 8 November
2019, from https://martinroll.com/resources/articles/strategy/uniqlo-the-strategy-behind-the-global-
japanese-fast-fashion-retail-brand/