Thermal underwear and smart toilets in the global market

As the weather cools down, Uniqlo's thermal underwear sells well. Lightweight down vests and jackets are also very popular. The Christmas and New Year of "reciprocity" is a season of continuous flow of customers in Uniqlo stores. Last year, the Financial Times The workplace columnist Kellaway lamented the sadness of the new year. When she was busy between work and family, she felt anxious and anxious. What should I do if the Uniqlo down jacket that my daughter wanted was out of stock?

The competition in the popular ready-to-wear industry is fierce and cruel. In the past, brands such as Italian brand Benetton, after being sought after by consumers for a while, were replaced by other brands. Not sure why the cycle is so short. Interactive topic: Open the international market, can we learn the pragmatism of the Japanese?

That is, because of low customer loyalty, manufacturers try their best to cater to their temporary preferences. According to reports, ready-to-wear manufacturers such as Zara, customers wear new ones after more than a dozen times, so they do not pay attention to durability, and the quality is acceptable. Enough is enough, and Uniqlo's goal is that once customers buy it, they will wear it forever, so the quality, workmanship, and details are not sloppy. Uniqlo is looking for and recruiting experienced masters to supervise production, and constantly put forward suggestions for improving quality and excellence. It is easy for competitors in the same industry to learn from the outside, but it is not easy to copy high-quality fabrics and workmanship.

In 2000, UNIQLO cooperated with Toray, a veteran textile company, to set up a service UNIQLO "special supply" department, specializing in the production of high-tech fabrics, especially winter thermal underwear, which has been around since 2003. In the future, the functions of antibacterial, moisturizing and anti-static will be continuously added, which is deeply loved by consumers. For Toray, it is equivalent to borrowing a boat to go to sea. The annual output of Uniqlo's thermal underwear exceeds 40 million pieces.

Uniqlo founder Yanai Masao is now worth $17 billion and ranks first in Japan's richest list.

He used Apple as an example to learn from: the popularity of personal computers, the price has been falling, the profit is very small, and Apple seriously regards quality as the first, the excellent design of the iPhone has won the favor of consumers around the world, and then As a brand image, Uniqlo is the same. Underwear is a necessities of life, and there must be a market. It elevates the smooth fabric, dyeing, tailoring and sewing meticulously to a unique position and becomes its competitiveness.

As a local company based in Japan, Uniqlo has to start from scratch when it wants to expand into foreign markets. In addition to Apple computers, Yanai is carefully studying the business methods of entrepreneurs such as Starbucks and 7-11 convenience stores, and even Read how the 19th Century East India Company found business opportunities around the world.

Uniqlo's going global was not smooth sailing. It first entered the U.S. market by opening a store in a suburban shopping mall, and business was not booming. The first store opened in Beijing in 2005 and closed within a year. However, Yanai was not discouraged and expanded overseas. It is his stated goal, and he has the courage to learn from his failures. His autobiography is titled "One Victory and Nine Losses".

As of the end of the fiscal year, Uniqlo had 831 stores in Japan and 633 overseas, half of which were in Greater China. In the process of rapid expansion, the way of management is a great challenge.

Uniqlo's corporate culture is Japanese-style vertical management. Store managers can only work according to the instructions of their superiors. Some people can't bear it, and the turnover rate is high. They have to use employees with limited experience as store managers. In order to manage, only strengthen discipline. Compressing the independent space, the result is that more store managers leave, forming a vicious circle, which may be the biggest worry for Uniqlo's future.

Japanese manufacturers capture the necessities of everyone's life when they face the global market. In addition to Uniqlo, which is popular clothing, another example is the smart toilet developed by Japanese bathroom equipment manufacturers. In today's life, going to the toilet is not only a sanitary need, but also a time to relax the body. It pays attention to comfort, humanization, electrolysis, cleanliness and environmental protection. TOTO has sold more than 1.6 million units of "high-tech" to the world in the past 20 years. "The toilet.

TOTO sees that such cleaning efforts are a sign of building a civilized image. In a globalized environment, filth has turned into backwardness and lack of self-discipline, which cannot attract foreign investment. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York The speech, outlining his vision for India, mentioned improving sanitation.

The price of a set of warm water toilets in Vietnam is more than a year's income for an ordinary worker, but there are many buyers who get rich first. TOTO's sales in Asian markets other than Japan and China reached US$175.4 million last year. 86% growth in 4 years, operating profit reached $27 million.

Just like Uniqlo has strong competitors in Europe and the United States, TOTO is also facing the US Kohler's high-end image of line design, gold-plated fashion and luxury to attract customers. Japanese companies pay too much attention to practicality. It is not very accurate with the trendy design. I want to enter the high-end market with creativity, but the effect is not good. Therefore, TOTO cooperated with Villeroy & Boch in Germany to produce high-end products with European-style design and global orientation.

Smart toilets compete in intelligence, and sometimes they even become self-defeating. They deliberately install Android system on the device and connect the mobile phone with Bluetooth, remote control the toilet lid switch and automatic flushing and other functions, which are too avant-garde and do not Can't please consumers.

Uniqlo has a similar experience. A few years ago, Jil Sanders, who is famous for his simple design in Germany, was hired to design a series of high-end fashions, but the customers did not appreciate it. The willingness of customers is also lack of psychological preparation. In addition, Uniqlo adopts a large-scale supply business model, placing orders from overseas factories six months or even a year ago. It is quite difficult to catch up with fashion. However, this spirit of courage to try and learn from setbacks is admirable.

These two examples show that in the era of globalization, the pursuit of comfort and hygiene is common in the era of globalization. As the middle class in developing countries expands, the demand for quality products in these middle-segment markets will grow.

The proportion of Uniqlo's fabric and sewing factories in China has dropped from 90% to 70% of all suppliers, while Greater China is Uniqlo's largest overseas market, why can't it break through the "Made in China, Japanese design"? This is a very thought-provoking question.

The smart toilet was first developed by Americans to meet the medical needs of hospitals and nursing homes. TOTO and another Japanese company, LIXIL, saw this neglected market and worked hard for many years to continuously improve. Become a world leader in this field. These are not so-called "disruptive" innovations, but they have gone their own way and provided reference for domestic and global enterprises.