muji aaker
TRANSCRIPT
One o the strongest retail brands inthe world is Muji. BrandJapan hasmeasured brand strength or 1,100
brands in Japan or eight years. Muji alwayshas ranked in the top 30—and usually in thetop 20—a consistency shared by only threeother retail brands. Afer opening its firststore in 1983 as a subsidiary o supermar-ket retailer Seiyu, it has since been sold andnow has more than 330 stores, nearly a thirdo which are outside Japan, including severallocations in New York. Few brands delivermore emotional and sel-expressive benefitsthan does Muji. Yet, the Muji brand vision isnot to be a brand. It is the no-brand brand.
Muji, short or Mujirushi Ryohin, is repre-sented by our characters that mean “no-brandquality goods.” Te values are all about simplic-ity, moderation, humility and sel-restraint. TeMuji philosophy is to deliver unctional prod-ucts that strive not to be the best, but “enough.”Enough does not mean compromise and resig-nation but a eeling o satisaction knowing thatthe product will deliver what is needed but nomore. Superfluous eatures and attributesunrelated to unction are omitted. Te aspi-ration is to achieve the extraordinary bymodesty and plainness in the pursuit o thepure and ordinary.
A visit to a Muji store in Japan is an eye-opener. One o the first things you notice isthat the clothes are all bland, mostly whiteor beige and never bright. Beige works.Tere is no logo on shirtronts; in act,there are no labels at all, even on the inside.Why would you want a label? Te urni-ture, cookware and office equipment areplain but unctional. Te designs are simple,but not or some minimalist statement (seephotos). Tey just provide what is needed todeliver unction. Periodically, there is a Mujidesign competition that regularly gets 2,000entrants and results in products or the storethat support the Muji philosophy and lie-style. Te prices are low not by using cheapmaterials or design, but by cutting rills andusing design with the right objectives.
Te store setting supports the productsand the philosophy. Te background musicis soothing. Te ambiance is relaxing anddelivers emotional benefits that are veryJapanese, but also travel well. In essence,Muji is a liestyle brand without the usualassociated energy. It is very different romthe loud visuals and sounds that come witha visit to Abercrombie & Fitch, or example.
Not surprisingly, Muji is sensitive to theenvironment. It aspires to live in compati-bility and sensitivity with the earth. owardthat end, it operates three large camp-grounds in Japan that allow people to enjoynature undisturbed. Te campsites hostMuji summer camp jamborees that bondMuji and the participants with nature.
Muji can be described as a reaction tothe glitz o okyo’s Ginza shopping districtand other shopping centers that are filledwith brand afer brand, each trying to be
more upscale than the last. In Japan, Muji isanti-glitz. Te badge o Louis Vuitton is thepolar opposite o Muji. Ironically, this desireto eliminate sel-expressive benefits actu-ally provides sel-expressive benefits. Shop-ping at Muji and using Muji products makea orceul statement about who you are. Youare above looking or badge brands. You are,rather, a rational person interested in theright values, and you choose to connect witha firm that is interested in promoting socialgood and satisaction rom lie.
Te act that there has been little realcompetition shows the strength o the barri-ers Muji has created. Its values are bothunique and compelling. Tey are not simplydue to any one part o the line; there is noflagship product. Rather, it is a combina-tion o everything that it does that emanatesrom its core values and culture. It would beimpossible or Macy’s to carve out a sectionwith a subbrand and deliver the Muji spiritand products. It just could not happen.
It is interesting to contrast Muji withIKEA, now the largest urniture store in theworld, which also ocuses on using design todeliver unctionality and low price. However,
its brand and stores are oriented moretoward unctionality at a low price with itsroom design concepts, signature products,customer-assembly policy, programmedstore layout and Swedish overlay, and there-ore deliver a lesser emotional or sel-expres-sive connection. IKEA is not a statementagainst ego-enhancing brands.
Muji is a most unusual brand story—a non-brand that delivers emotional andsel-expressive benefits. oday’s trendsmake the story become even more inter-esting. Consumers have seen the downsideo the debt-driven commercialism excesseso today’s society. Tere is almost a crav-ing or the simple, away rom the pride-ul and sel-absorbed brand benefits andtoward more satisying values. A desireor ewer additives in ood, or entertain-ment systems that are easy to operate, orless product conusion, or sustainableconsumption and on and on, is becom-ing visible. It may be that the simple andunassuming may become more o a main-stream ormula rather than a niche strat-egy. I so, Muji may become a brand rolemodel that others look toward. m
By DaviD aaker
Muj: Th No-Bnd Bnd
Dd a s vce charman of
San Francsco-based marketng
consltancy Prophet. Hs latest
book, Spanning Silos: The New
CMO Imperative, was pblshed
n 2008.
The aspiration is to achieve the extraordinary by
modesty and plainness in the pursuit of the pure
and ordinary.
© Muji uSA
© Muji uSA
© Muji uSA
© Muji uSA
m ar k
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g p o w er . c
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