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UNIQLO MARKETING PLAN

BSB126 MARKETING
I. SITUATION ANALYSIS

Uniqlo is a modern Japanese clothing apparel company that produces affordable and quality
casual wear for everyone. The company has undergone rapid growth in the past decade and
became the biggest Asian fast fashion brand. Under Uniqlo’s aggressive expansion model, it
has recently opened its 13th Australian store at Chermside Westfield.

The fast fashion industry has experienced strong growth over the past few years. According
to IBISWorld (2017), the industry revenue is expected to surge at an annual rate of 21.5%,
reaching $1.8 billion by 2017. The major drivers include the promotion of global trade,
technological advancements, increasing purchasing power and intense spending patterns of
Australian consumers. In particular, the high penetration rate of digital media has provided
massive opportunities for Uniqlo to distribute products through online platforms and utilise
new media tools to increase brand awareness and sales.

The fast fashion industry is extremely competitive with unpredictable and constantly
changing consumer trends. Uniqlo is unique in its dedication to provide high-quality product
at a reasonable price. The company prides itself on exceptional customer service and
outstanding innovative products. In 2017, it captures 12.9% of the industry market share
(Appendix C) however remained relatively low brand awareness in Australia compared to
global fashion giant such as H&M and Cotton On (IBISWorld, 2017). This phenomenon is
probably due to the limited number of stores and low level of marketing and advertising
activities, which give rise to opportunities for Uniqlo to strengthen its marketing strategies.

A SWOT analysis and CDSTEP analysis are included in appendices for further understanding
of the internal and external environment.

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II. MARKETING GOAL

Achieve 30% increase in national sales volume within 6 months through market
development.

III. MARKETING STRATEGY


Target Customers

Uniqlo has a wide range of products catering to all ages and genders. To be specific, the
company has three target consumer segments – Young Optimism, Look At Me and
Traditional Family (Roy Morgan, 2017). These three segments share some common
characteristics – they are consumers who live in Australia and are looking to purchase
affordable yet quality clothes that suit different occasions.

In particular, Young Optimism, the major target segment, is a group of consumers who
aged 18 to 30. As young adults, they are conscious of the image they projected and are
sensitive and passionate to fashion. Meanwhile, they are looking to purchase quality
casual apparel of good value. To add, they are digital natives and are born to use social
media and mobile phones.

Young Optimism Look At Me Conventional Family


(Target Market)
Geographic  People who live in major cities in Australia who have access to physical and
online Uniqlo stores
Demographic  Young adults aged  Teenagers aged 13  Aged 25 to 45;
18 to 30 to 25 have kids and
 University students  Financially financially
or business dependent on capable to
professionals their parents purchase clothes
 Financially
independent
Behavioral  Purchase clothes  Always purchase  Purchase quality
for different stylish and clothes of good
occasions at regular affordable clothing value for families
basis to express their and kids
 Looking for clothing styles and personal
of good value value
Psychographi  Aware of and will make purchase at Uniqlo
c
Table 1. Target Customer Analysis.

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Value Proposition

The value proposition of Uniqlo is its fashionable, high quality yet affordable and broad
apparel offerings. The company seeks to bring innovation to produce unique apparels to
meet customer needs in new and creative way (Uniqlo, 2017). The product design is basic
and consumers could choose from a wide array of colours.

Uniqlo is a better bargain than its competitors in the market as its products are
differentiated with a better quality and lower price. Choi (2011) highlighted that fashion,
quality and cost are often sacrificed one for another, but Uniqlo has embraced these
essences to produce attractive and inexpensive products, which successfully captured
Young Optimism’s needs.

As stated above, Young Optimism is well-known as teach-savvies who actively


participated in online apparel shopping. With 96% of Australian accessing the Internet
every day (Sensis, 2017), Uniqlo’s e-commerce presence has added value to its
outstanding customer experience - particularly with social media platforms and online
store to interactively engage with and motivate consumers.

Positioning Statement: Uniqlo is the best basic clothing retailer for young adults as the
apparels are fashionable, high quality and affordable at the same time that anyone can
wear anytime and anywhere.

Figure 1. Positioning Map

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IV. MARKETING TACTICS

Product

Product refers to the business offerings that satisfy consumers’ needs and wants (Grewal,
2014). The primary product objective of Uniqlo is to provide a mixed array of affordable,
stylish, innovative and high-quality clothing, with a wide collection in styles and colours.

Young consumers represent the most powerful market segment for Uniqlo. To differentiate
its products and remain competitive in the industry, market research should be done to
investigate the fashion trends and changing consumption patterns of customers. The R&D
team will then source the most suitable materials combining technology to develop the best
wearing experience to consumers. Hart & Tzokas (2000) stated that active market research is
to ensure Uniqlo visualises potential opportunity to improve existing product performance
or develop new products to capture current and potential target markets. In addition, this
can also allow Uniqlo to effectively allocate resource by phasing out non-performing
products and stock those that perform well.

Branding is a process to create a unique impression in consumer minds (Grewal, 2014). The
brand identity of Uniqlo is made up of the brand name, logo and slogan (Appendix D).
Together they create a point of differentiation from competitors with its Japanese-
orientated and innovative apparels. To add, Uniqlo’s product should be consistent in
branding message delivery to form part of the successful product strategy.

Price

Pricing is one of the fundamental marketing mixes that largely impacts on company sales
and market share (Grewal et al., 2014).

To determine an optimum price, Uniqlo should evaluate the 5Cs of pricing – cost, customers,
channels, competition and compatibility. According to Grewal (2004), a successful pricing
strategy should reflect the target market’s expectation on the products’ price and quality.

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The price of products should be able to generate considerable revenue, and at the same
time appeared to be competitive and appealing to customers over other competitors.

Uniqlo is known for its penetration pricing strategy to set products at a lower price than
competitors. Entering the Australian market, the company will need to be aware of the
distribution costs and tax payable on top of production and operation costs. Therefore, the
price should be set at an affordable level for Young Optism, but slightly higher than in Japan
to cover operational costs and aligns to the Australian consumer price index.

Moreover, Uniqlo should adopt psychological pricing strategy. It is a practice of using odd or
even digits as price endings to emotionally trigger customers’ intention to purchase (Naipaul,
2008). Further, price promotions such as discounts, seasonal sales and limited offers could
also be used to further motivate customers to shop at Uniqlo, thus increasing the company’s
sales volume and revenue.

Distribution

Distribution is process when transactions are made through selected channels for final users
to access the product (Grewal et al., 2014). Grewal et al. (2014) emphasised that it is vital to
ensure the product availability in various markets to achieve expected sales and profit.

Uniqlo employs the SPA business model which allowed the company to encompass all stages
of the business from design, production to final sales (Fast Retail, 2011). There are two
major exclusive distribution channels - official online and physical stores. These brand
touchpoints are easy to access as flagship stores are often situated at highly-visible,
centralised locations and online stores can be easily accessed anytime and anywhere
through digital devices.

To achieve sales target, Uniqlo could consider adopting selective distribution strategy to
provide increased market coverage and distribute its products through selected available
outlets. Antoaneta (2008) suggested that this marketing approach is a ‘push’ strategy which
selected distributors and channel partners will help to create brand awareness and end

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sales. While retaining its unique positioning, this distribution strategy can help Uniqlo to gain
optimum market coverage and more control with less cost than intensive distribution.

Promotion

According to Grewal et al. (2014), promotion is a marketing activity that evokes direct
response from consumers. The objective-and-task method will be used to determine a
series of promotional activities for Uniqlo to reach the stated marketing goal within a
budget of AUD $50,000.

While traditional media is effective for branding and marketing of the major product
offerings, digital media is used to further enhance the marketing impact. The former include
billboard, television advertisements and magazines which have a wide cover and can be
segment-specific, the latter involves the use of the internet and social media which allows
Uniqlo to facilitate two-way communication and actively engage with existing and potential
consumers via digital devices (Grewal et al., 2014). To highlight, online marketing is lower in
cost and the ROI can be instantly trackable.

The below table will illustrate the suggested promotional activities to achieve 30% increase
in national sales within 6 months. These activities aim to increase brand visibility, awareness
and motivate customers to make purchases, which ultimately enhance the consumer loyalty
and increase sales to reach marketing goal.

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Categor Item Frequency Cost
y
Offline Billboards 4 weeks during Christmas $10000
Transit Advertising (Full Back) 5 buses for 24 weeks $15000
Magazine & Radio Monthly during sales period $2000
Event Marketing Special Event at Queens $3000
Street Mall to drive traffic
into the stall
Sports Event Sponsorship Once a year $10000
Online Search Engine Marketing On-going $2000
Social Media Platforms Facebook, Instagram, $3000
Snapchat, LinkedIn,
YouTube and more
Direct Email Marketing Operational
Cost
Both Create an online membership club & $5000
membership card
Total:
$50,000
Table 2. Budget Allocation.

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V. REFERENCES

Antoaneta, N. (2008). Successful Market Coverage Strategy-the Path to Retailers (Doctoral


Dissertation). Retrieved from http://www.diva-
portal.se/smash/get/diva2:4427/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Choi, E. K. (2011). the rise of uniqlo: Leading paradigm change in fashion business and
distribution in japan. Entreprises Et Histoire, 1(64), p. 85-104.

Cupman, J. (2017). Using market research for product development. Retrieved from
https://www.b2binternational.com/publications/product-development-research/

DFAT. (2015). Fact sheet: trade in goods-rules. Retrieved from


http://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/jaepa/fact-sheets/Pages/fact-sheet-trade-in-
goods-rules.aspx

Fast Retail. (2011). Uniqlo Operations. Retrieved from


https://www.fastretailing.com/eng/ir/library/pdf/ar2011_en_08_n.pdf

Grewal, D., Levy, M., Mathews, L., Harrigan, S., & Bucic, T. (2014). Marketing. Australia:
McGraw Hill.

Hart, S., & Tzokas, N. (2000). New product launch “mix” in growth and mature product
markets. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 7(5), 389-405.
doi:10.1108/14635770010359874.

IBISWorld. (2017). Fast fashion in Australia. Retrieved from https://www.ibisworld.com

McGee, T. (2017). How millennials are changing retail patterns. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommcgee/2017/01/23/the-rise-of-the-
millennial/#7ba89f345f74

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Nusair, K. (2008). Effect of price discount frames and levels on consumers' perceptions in
low-end service industries. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management, 22(6), p. 814-835.

Pepper, F. (2017). Australia's obsession with new clothes and 'fast fashion' textiles hurting
the environment. ABC News. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-
12/australias-obsession-with-new-clothes-hurting-the-environment/8177624

Roy Morgan. (2017). Value Segments. Retrieved from


http://www.roymorgan.com/products/values-segments

Sensis. (2017). Social media report. Retrieved from


https://www.sensis.com.au/asset/PDFdirectory/Sensis_Social_Media_Report_2017-
Chapter-1.pdf

Uniqlo. (2017). Uniqlo. Retrieved from http://www.uniqlo.com/

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VI. APPENDICES
APPENDIX A
SWOT Analysis for UNIQLO
Strengths Weaknesses
 A wide range of product in different styles and  Weak brand awareness in Australia
colour  Product line focuses on winter apparel
 High quality of clothing offering at reasonable  Too many layers in distribution channels
prices  No exchange or refund for certain products such as
 International brand with stores in strategic socks and underwear
locations (i.e. Queens street Mall, Emporium)  Plain design and lack of fashion styles
 Well-trained and helpful sales assistance (Uniqlo’s  Lack of advertising and marketing
staffs are trained for at least one month before
start working on sales floor)
 Online store to enhance sales
 Free altering service
Opportunities Threats
 Positive brand perception of consumers  Stiff competition from other fast fashion operators
 Possibility to become state-wide, such as opening such as H&M and Zara
stores in Darwin and Perth  Unpredictable and constantly changing fashion
 New technologies leading to more innovative trends
clothes  Expensive rental fee for flagship and physical
 Global marketing penetration stores

APPENDIX B
CDSTEP Analysis for UNIQLO
Factors Trends & Implications
Culture  The Japan culture is highly valued in Australia. Australian is well-aware of Japan
providing excellent brands and quality products from Samsung electronics to
Toyota vehicles. There are fashion conscious Australians who know well about
international fashion brand like Uniqlo.
Demographics  Uniqlo’s slogan is “Made For All” (Uniqlo, 2017). The brand sells both basic and
trendy apparel products that ideally attract everyone. Since Uniqlo’s stores are
usually situated in highly urbanised area, the major demographic population will be
young adults living in metropolitan areas.
Social  Australians are the world’s second largest consumers of fast fashion. According to
Pepper (2017), an Australian buy average 27 kilograms of new clothing each year.
 Uniqlo has a corporate sustainability initiative which supports factory worker and
the environment through Uniqlo funds and recycle projects.
Technology  Uniqlo’s signature product range HEATTEAH is a new technology that creates
apparel products that absorb and maintain body heat to keep wearers warm
(Uniqlo, 2017).
 The high internet and mobile penetration rate has given opportunities for Uniqlo to

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communicate and distribute products to customers through a variety of digital
platforms.
Economics  Australia is currently experiencing a stable and growing economy with consumers
having high disposable incomes (IBISWorld, 2017). Consumers are more willing to
spend money on fast fashion and this trend gives confidence for international
fashion retailers to establish presence in Australia. According to IBISWorld (2017),
the industry revenue has an estimated annual growth of 21.5%.
 The fast fashion industry is extremely competitive with global giants such as H&M,
Zara and Cotton On.
Political/Legal  The Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) entered into force in
2015 has significantly promoted bilateral trade between Japan and Australia (DFAT,
2015). Uniqlo has gained advantages from this policy to export quality goods and
access Australian market at a low cost.

APPENDIX C
Fast fashion industry market share

APPENDIX D
Uniqlo Brand Identity Prism

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