See how H&M, ZARA, Uniqlo and other fast fashion clothing accelerate brand tone?

Uniqlo once encountered acclimatization in China. When it first entered the Chinese market, under the pressure of high tariffs, in order to maintain its low-price positioning in Japan, the fabric standards of products in the Chinese market were lower, and the product quality was greatly compromised. In 2002, UNIQLO entered Shanghai, more than four years earlier than H&M and ZARA; in 2005, UNIQLO entered Beijing, but due to losses, it withdrew from the Beijing market in less than a year.

In order to reverse the unfavorable situation, Uniqlo has repositioned its user base to the middle class. As China’s economy continues to develop rapidly, the middle class in China’s first- and second-tier cities has begun to grow, and “good clothes that can be worn” have become their immediate need. This has also contributed to Uniqlo’s rapid development in China.

Looking at Uniqlo’s financial reports from 2010 to 2015, we will find that the number of Uniqlo’s overseas stores has increased 12 times in the past five years, from 136 to 1,734. China has also become Uniqlo’s largest overseas market, contributing about 30% of its revenue.

In addition to offline stores, UNIQLO has also seized the rapidly growing e-commerce channel, ranking first among clothing brands in sales during “Double Eleven” for several consecutive years.

After rapid expansion, Uniqlo encountered a bottleneck due to fewer styles and uneven quality. Uniqlo’s response strategy is to jointly create popular products with artists, use new fabrics full of technology, and promote the integration of online and offline to enhance the consumer experience.

When consumption upgrades and user demand is no longer about dividends, what cost-effective brands have to do is to use product power to catch up with dividends.