Uniqlo, a clothing brand, was founded in Yamaguchi, Japan in 1949. At present, it is one of the leading companies in the industry.

Lately, the company has been implementing several marketing strategies that have helped it gather some great adherence. 

In this case study, we will discuss the Target Market, Marketing Campaigns, SWOT Analysis, and Social Media Marketing, and Marketing Strategy of Uniqlo.

So, let’s get started with the company’s introduction.

About Uniqlo

 

 

Tadashi Yanai inherited his father’s 22 men’s tailoring stores in 1972. After he became the president in 1984, he opened a fresh and unique store in Hiroshima, Unique Clothing Warehouse, which was later shortened to Uniqlo. He acted as a catalyst for the company’s rapid expansion. Currently, it has more than 1900 stores worldwide.

Uniqlo is one of Asia’s and the world’s fastest-growing apparel brands. With stores in relatively all major cities worldwide, the brand is known for producing high-quality apparel that people can wear daily.

The company is well known for its knitwear which is made from high-quality material. People go there to find great essentials, pieces, and a nice selection of clothes at a reasonable price.

Uniqlo aspires to be the world’s largest clothing shop, with a focus on growth in the United States, China, and online. It is slowly catching up with global fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz’s (H&M) market share by targeting the right customers.

Now, as we know about the company, so let’s understand the target market of Uniqlo.

 

Target Market of Uniqlo

 

 

A target market is a group of people to whom the company wants to sell its product. The target market of Uniqlo is both male and female, in the age group of 18-40. It targets people who are attempting to find trendy clothes which are casual and laid back.

Want to know how you can look for the right target audience for your brand? Check out this blog to know more!

Uniqlo clothing is not only limited to the wealthy. The great quality and affordability indicate great value for consumers. This strategy has broadened the target market because all the consumers are trying to find affordable and high-quality clothes. 

Uniqlo also targets the working-class, middle-class, and upper-class people by psychographic segmentation to expand its business. Now, it’s time to analyze some marketing strategies adopted by Uniqlo.

 

Marketing Strategy of Uniqlo

 

The marketing strategy helps you with how you will communicate with your audience. And, Uniqlo adopted its marketing strategy with a special set of tactics. 

Uniqlo focuses on the brand’s unique functional performance, with a focus on apparel design and innovation. The brand also provides a superior shopping experience for customers through impressive store management and design, a positive employee culture, and in-store technology that includes video tutorials describing product designs.

Given below there are some excellent marketing strategies undertaken by Uniqlo:-

 

1. Collaborations of Uniqlo

 

Uniqlo has been growing over the years through its countless collaborations. To begin, the organization works with worldwide ambassadors such as tennis world champion Roger Federer and professional golfer Adam Scott.

 

 

Second, the company has also pioneered design partnerships with various groups and designers worldwide, creating something for every part of the audience. They are chosen because they have shared common values with the brand – a commitment to make a positive impact on people’s lives and to contribute to society.

 

2. High Dedication to Innovations

 

Rather than following fashion trends, Uniqlo focuses on research and development to continually build on brand technologies. HeatTech, AIRism, and Lifewear are all Uniqlo brand technologies with HeatTech being the foremost famous.

 

 

HeatTech is a Uniqlo brand that has developed a cult following among young millennials for its thin fabric that transforms moisture into heat and contains air pockets that aid to retain heat. 

Uniqlo’s technology for its innovative fabrics is constantly being improved. When HeatTech was first released in 2003 and 1.5 million units were sold. Just ten years later, in 2012, 130 million units were sold, including a wider range of products. 

So, now we understand that Uniqlo expands its production through its digital presence and it stays in the market with its saying ‘innovation’. 

Want to expand your brand’s digital presence? This blog outlines the top 6 digital marketing strategies and offers tips on how to create your own!

The market is dynamic and empathy is the key. The more your customers can relate to you, the more likely they seem to be to stick with your brand. Let’s look at how Uniqlo cracked this formula.

 

Uniqlo Marketing Campaigns

 

Being a company with a wide range of customers, Uniqlo never resists experimenting. The brand recently launched an AI-Powered assistant to assist customers to discover products on their mobile app. Rather than suggesting products based on the past, it offers a more personalized interface with voice customer support.

If you want to learn how you can leverage the power of AI for digital marketing, check out this blog to know more!

Let’s dive into the marketing campaigns led by Uniqlo.

 

1. Made for All – A Marketing Campaign of Uniqlo

 

LifeWear The belief in functional design and modern manufacturing techniques is at the heart of UNIQLO’s clothing philosophy. As a result, high-quality clothing is available at an affordable price. Everyone’s everyday requirements will be met. UNIQLO’s operations are guided by the LifeWear philosophy. From the concept of producing clothes that are designed to improve the lives of all wearers to sustainable activities and community involvement, there is something for everyone.

 

 

Uniqlo prefers to supply fewer items but more colour options for each purchaser. Customers who like a product can purchase it in multiple colours. It’s broad and personalized at the same time so that the customer feels special, but the assortment simultaneously works for every type of individual.

 

2. UNIQLO Uncover Magazine – A Marketing Campaign of Uniqlo

 

The marketing campaign included a social media component, encouraging participants to share their experiences with their peers via social media, urging them to uncover their codes. UNIQLO won the Shorty Award for Best in Retail and E-Commerce in Social Media after reaching over 4 million people and earning over 35,000 new customers.

 

 

2. UNIQLO LifeWear Made For All – A Marketing Campaign of Uniqlo

Uniqlo’s marketing strategy is focused on improving people’s lives through their clothes. This was reflected in their current campaign for the Lifewear range of clothing, which emphasizes that it is “made for all”. The campaign features well-known sports personalities like Roger Federer and Anna-Carin Ahlquist, as well as artists like Futura.

This shows Uniqlo’s three most successful and revolutionary campaigns. Textiles are a fiercely competitive industry. You should be well-versed in the company’s internal and external variables. Let’s explore it and do a SWOT analysis to figure out the company’s strengths and weaknesses.

 SWOT Analysis of Uniqlo

 

The four sections of a SWOT analysis are strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Uniqlo’s SWOT analysis is described below.

 

1. Strengths of Uniqlo:

 

Strengths are the resources a company uses to achieve its objectives. The strengths of Uniqlo are:

 

• Uniqlo has a market penetration strategy. This always helps the brand in expansion and build a new revenue stream by diversifying the risk. Also, the company is innovative about its product.
• The firm has consistent quality products because of automation. This helps to control the production according to the demand of the product.
• It has a strong distribution network which allows it to reach its target audience.
• The company uses strong digital marketing strategies through the use of automation tools.

 

2. Weaknesses of Uniqlo

 

Weaknesses are the disadvantage of businesses, which prevent the company from achieving its goals and targets. The weaknesses of Uniqlo are:

 

• The brand manufactures weather-sensitive apparel. It is successful in Asia but not in the US as it was just designed for the Asian market and lacks global adaptability.
• The company has huge issues in scaling up its supply chain. Online retailing is way too less than the other players in the market.

 

3. Opportunities of Uniqlo

 

Opportunities are the scope where the company can expand its business and generate more revenue. The opportunities for Uniqlo are:

 

• The company has a huge opportunity if it enters the new market segment. Now, the brand serves men and women. It can expand in the kid’s segment too. 
• The company can build a good brand image that can be leveraged and generate more revenue.
• The company can promote its brand through viral advertising and digital marketing to create brand awareness among its target market.

 

4. Threats of Uniqlo

 

Threats are harmful to the brand. The threats to Uniqlo are:

 

• Tough competition in the market by the big players like Gap, Zara, Tommy Hilfiger, etc.
• Brand switching in the clothing industry is easy.

 

Overall, the company has some competitive advantages and also has some threats. The company must capitalize on the opportunities and try to eradicate the threats and weaknesses. Now let’s see how Uniqlo has a strong presence in social media in the coming section.

 

Social Media Marketing (SMM) of Uniqlo

 

For businesses of all sectors, social media marketing is a great method to reach out to prospects and consumers. SMM is a type of internet marketing that entails developing and sharing content on social media networks to meet marketing and branding objectives.

Uniqlo is present on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Let’s have a look at the digital marketing strategy of Uniqlo in the coming section with respect to its social media accounts.

 

1. Uniqlo’s Facebook Account

 

 

The brand is present in this biggest social media with more than 1.13k followers. Here, Uniqlo handles it by posting its new products and its unique ideas of campaigns. 

In the below image, we can see the new product launched by Uniqlo. Like this, the brand posts its new products with different portfolios.

 

2. Uniqlo’s Instagram Account

 

 

On Instagram, Uniqlo has 2.3 followers with 2,336 posts. It posts about its campaigns, and also about its collaborations with other brands. 

In the below post, recently Uniqlo has posted its collaboration with Theory for its new Spring and Summer collections in 2021. It also had more than 5k likes and it grasped a lot of attention among its consumers.

If you want to learn the best practices for Instagram, you can browse through this blog.

3. Uniqlo’s Twitter Handle

 

 

On Twitter, Uniqlo doesn’t have a global account; instead, it only has an account that is handled by each country. Below is the account handled by the USA of Uniqlo which has 91.7k followers. 

In the below post of Uniqlo, the image depicts one of the important features of Uniqlo – Minimalism. The brand posted the image by tagging its most famous campaign #LifeWear.

The corporation, as a brand, wants to attract the audience’s attention, therefore it develops and targets content to advertise its products via digital channels. 

These are the marketing techniques used by the Uniqlo company to help to achieve its firm goals, as marketing is critical to the company’s growth, and it can be summarised as follows.

 

Conclusion

 

Uniqlo was founded on the Japanese philosophy of simplicity and essentiality. The firm recognizes that its product is one of the most powerful marketing tools for its brand. 

The corporation emphasizes delivering a good customer care experience and communicating on causes that the customers care about. From the stories behind the goods to the influencers the brand works with all thanks to localized social media content – this is a brand that has a clear and strong brand story and makes sure that its content interacts and expresses with the audience better.

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