“Our marketing task starts now”

As the Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer - Uniqlo- from the house of Fast Retailing launches its first store in India in New Delhi, we speak with Shantanu, head of marketing, Uniqlo India, to understand the brand and its philosophy better.

A few weeks ago, the seven-decade-old fashion retail brand Uniqlo, from the house of Fast Retailing, launched its first-ever store in India. The Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer announced the launch in the country in May 2018 and inaugurated its first store at Ambience Mall, New Delhi on October 4, 2019.

The Tokyo-headquartered clothing brand currently owns over 2,000 operational stores worldwide. Founded in 1949 by Tadashi Yanai, the wealthiest Japanese now, the brand opened its first unisex casual wear store in Hiroshima in May 1984, under the name ‘Unique Clothing Warehouse’. However, while listing it in Hong Kong in 1988, a spelling error resulted in the brands current name.

In the annual industry ranking by the FR Group, Uniqlo’s parent - Fast Retailing - was listed at number two with sales of $21.51 billion at the end of the last fiscal year (August 2019), sitting right under Inditex (Zara) that closed the last fiscal year (January 2019) with recorded sale of $28.89 billion.

Unlike the other dominant fashion retailers in the industry, Uniqlo does not run on the ‘trending fashion’ phenomenon. The brand’s philosophy aims at making it affordable for all and keeping it simple and comfortable. The ‘no logo policy’ is another differentiator for the brand.

At the time of the brand’s India launch, it also unveiled its first campaign for the country - ‘Together in LifeWear’. Conceptualised by BBH India, a Mumbai-headquartered creative agency, the 30-second film, along with the brand’s other products, highlights the newly launched ethnic section for the Indian market.

We spoke to Shantanu, head of marketing, Uniqlo India, to understand the brand and its philosophy better. Shantanu – he goes by just Shantanu, yes – with over 10 years of experience with Procter & Gamble, finds Uniqlo a best fit for him given the brand’s philosophy of ‘consumer first’. He says he did not have to unlearn P&G’s ‘consumer is the boss’ philosophy before joining Uniqlo in January this year.

In fact, he says that keeping consumer in the forefront is one of his best learnings from his past experiences in the industry. He believes that while making any product-related decisions, one must always keep an empty chair in the meeting room, considering it to be the consumer’s seat and giving equal weightage to what he/she might have said if he/she was physically present in the room.

Edited excerpts:

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(This story was first published in our magazine afaqs! Reporter on July 1, 2o19.)

Editor's Note:

At the risk of sounding like an ignoramus, I’ll admit... I first heard of Uniqlo only about 14 months ago. I read a Forbes headline that said - ‘Roger Federer On Why He Ditched Nike For A $300 Million Uniqlo Deal’. What’s that, I wondered. And serendipitously enough, a few weeks down the line, a cousin who lives abroad gifted me a plain blue, minimalist-esque jacket – the kind we Mumbaikars, with no winters to speak of, only wear on flights! – from Uniqlo. My sense of wonder grew. This looks like a special sort of mysterious brand, I remember thinking.

Months later, when Uniqlo announced its big India launch, what piqued my interest was the fact that the team gave potential tie-ups with the Amazons and Myntras a miss for an offline strategy; Uniqlo’s door to India is located at a mall in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj. That’s when I was sure... this is a brand worth getting to know. Lucky for me, doing so is my job. So this fortnight, we get to know both the brand and its local custodian Shantanu, who has a back story as interesting as his brand.

A former member of the merchant navy, who spent his time on oil tankers and in greasy engine rooms, Shantanu entered the rough seas of FMCG marketing with a job at Procter & Gamble around 2008, which took him across the company’s India, Singapore and China offices. After spending over a decade at P&G, he is now tasked with bringing a Japanese fashion and retail brand into Indian wardrobes.

What is he most apprehensive about? Will Uniqlo’s simple designs and monochrome patterns appeal to the colour-hungry Indian shopper? Who are his biggest rivals? What will Uniqlo’s advertising look and sound like? And does he have a strategy to sell his wares online? Our reporter tried getting some answers when she met Shantanu at Uniqlo’s Gurugram office recently.

ASHWINI GANGAL