UNIQLO:

UNIT Hiroaki Jitsukata Aoyagi Asuka Ryonosuke Kanzaki Albert Go Jerinae Chua-Ching

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Identification of the Problem

How to: position the Uniqlo brand in order for it to become the worlds largest apparel retailer and to hit sales of 2 trillion JPY per year.

SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths Unique positioning (basic clothing lines) Strong Branding (ex. Unique katakana logo) Pricing Positioning (Low Price Good quality) Strong winter Products (Fleece, Heattech, etc.) Marketing driven Company unlike most Japanese retailers and companies Weaknesses Weak sales when seasons change (particularly, summer and spring)

SWOT ANALYSIS
Opportunities

New product line (featuring the Uniqlo Logo)

Overseas expansion to colder countries

Unique positioning in the Japanese market Threats Foreign Currency (example: strong Chinese Yuan) Loss of sales due to weak spring/summer lines

Courses of Action
A. UNIQLO continues with its current positioning and strategy. B. UNIQLO focuses more on increasing sales within Japan via expansion within the country or more marketing.

Courses of Action
C. Expand more aggressively to the countries where there are lower temperatures. (China, Russia, USA, Canada, Korea) D. Introduce a new product line that includes the UNIQLO logo.

Courses of Action
E. Add more products to the summer/spring lines under the UNIQLO brand. F. Localize and increase marketing of other product lines. (E.g. GU, Comptoir des Cotonniers, etc.)

Analysis of Courses of Action

Course A:
This course of action is the safest but does not coincide with the problem the case is trying to address.

Course B:
Focusing more on Japan, a saturated market, might not merit the best results. UNIQLO in the international background would merit higher rewards.

Analysis of Courses of Action

Course C:
This course of action would be a high investment, high risk move, but if successful, would help UNIQLO to increase its total sales to reach its target.

Course D:
This course of action helps in strengthening the UNIQLO brand by embedding it into a product line. It also helps in the marketing and targeting to loyal UNIQLO customers.

Analysis of Courses of Action

Course E:
Adding more products for the spring/summer lines might help increase year round sales due to UNIQLO having only strong winter based apparel sales.

Course F:
Pushing other product lines of Fast Retailing would increase year round sales, but is a risky and unpredictable move.

RECOMMENDATION
Actions C, D, E, and F are good directions for the company. Choices C and F are both higher risk because it is not known how fast ROI will be. However, they have the most potential to help Fast Retailing to reach its 2 trillion JPY goal. Choices D and E are not as risky and would be a good way to increase same store sales.