UNIQLO LOVE

Notice beforehand: this post has no relation towards Squirtle Boy buying me a Uniqlo cardigan for my birthday. Ever since I was a 13 year old teenager exposed to a healthy dose of internet connection (which I used mostly on downloading Arctic Monkeys music videos at that time), I have always been attracted to Uniqlo, including their smart and exciting web, their cool yet somewhat touchy tv commercials, the fact that Kenichi Matsuyama is a face for the brand's campaign, and also that Jil Sander is currently the creative director!

(Uniqlo wide-leg jeans ad starring Kennichi Matsuyama, Eriko Sato/2007)

(A look from Wallpaper magazine, March 2011)

Inside this month's edition of Wallpaper magazine that I recently bought, is an article on the subject of Uniqlo entitled "The Richest Man in Japan" which, of course, refers to Tadashi Yanai, the 68 year old son of founder, Hitoshi Yanai. Basically, the article tells us facts upon how Uniqlo is catching up with today's market ever since first established in 1984. Without even needing to read the article, people who are familiar with Uniqlo might have noticed more than a list of things to love about the brand (exuberant colors, comfortable basics, cheap quality jeans), but noticing a couple of more amazing facts wouldn't do any harm.   

Article check points :

+ " We are at the cultural and economic crossroads of the modern world" --Tadashi Yanai

+ There are photographs telling staff how to arrange things neatly on their desks and how many buttons     on their shirts to undo, even how to wear their underwear (!) -- on how planet Uniqlo is decorated.

+ To marry unbeatable quality and price, with a sense of accessibility, good Japanese service and a healthy dollop of style -- on Yanai's breakthrough.

+ "Uniqlo has the potential to leave us looking slow, tired, old, and expensive" -- anonymous commercial director of a competitive retail line.

+ "Changing clothes. Changing conventional wisdom. Change the world." -- Yanai's motto.