November 10, 2006
Uniqlo Settles Into Soho
Konichiwa - Japanese retailer Uniqlo has finally opened its flagship SoHo store at 546 Broadway, between Prince and Spring Streets (just a few stores away from Banana Republic and H&M). And it's enormous - and currently pretty crowded with shoppers eager to pick up some moderately priced fall clothing. There's also a contingent of Japanese media, no doubt reporting on the invasion of New York by one of Japan's biggest brands.
At 36,000 square feet, the store's design is "simple loft style" with white walls, exposed ducting, wooden floors and steel staircase, letting the displays and shelves of colorful clothes liven things up. A display of revolving mannequins greets you, a glass shaft lets you see the action on lower floors, and one cashier area has exposed brick covered by glass.
A NY Times article looked at the Uniqlo strategy and spoke with founder Tadashi Yanai:
In a typical winter season, Uniqlo sells one million cashmere sweaters, which retail for $89 to $99 but are frequently on a promotional half-price sale. They are silky soft, but the differences from those sold in other stores are not readily apparent.Well, don't the fashion magazines always tell you to buy affordable basics that you mix with more expensive items? And have you noticed the $650 cashmere sweater Banana Republic is selling? Anyway, last year Yanai said he wanted Uniqlo to be the "world's No. 1 casual apparel company." (Uniqlo's parent company, Fast Retailing, is worth $10 billion.)A new sweater style this year bears a six-inch zipper at the neck with a leather pull, a style originated by Hermès (for four figures) and popularized by J. Crew last year (for about $200).
“Ours is half the price,” Mr. Yanai said.
The focus on basics, rather than on fashion, contrasts sharply with that of Zara and H&M, which introduced cheap chic to the United States.
The quality of some of the clothing we touched (we didn't buy, as the lines were a little bananas) seemed better than the Gap or Old Navy, but not buttery soft like $200-300 cashmere out there. The range of colors and basic styles was actually reassuring - sometimes it feels like you can't get a plain shirt or sweater at other stores.
Another thing: The store greeters handed out "Uniqlo Paper No 1," sort of like the store's magazine. Not only are there fashion spreads, interviews (Morimoto!), and coupons ($15 off purchase of $75 or more), there was this funny little comparison of Tokyo and New York at the front.
Are you going to Uniqlo? Have you gone?
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I did indeed go today, and was almost ran over by cameramen multiple times. Bought a pair of jeans which they apparently can hem for free. It was a pleasant surprise.
So, the million dollar question is: is this shit any better then any of the other shit? yea or nay!
i've been a huge fan of uniqlo for a while. i work in soho and for almost a year they've had mini stores open in the hood. i've definitely gotten a lot of great basics (tanks and tees) there and i have a pair of jeans that i really love. unlike h&m, the japanese seem to be able to make clothes that actually fit an american woman's body...
Dan, I've gone to Uniqlo in Japan on my past trips there because I like their t-shirt designs.
I can tell you that the shit is quality. The prices are somewhere between Old Navy and the Gap, but they use decent fabric and I like the jeans there.
Where are there clothes made?
The good: the quality is like the Gap and American Apparel
The Bad: the fit is like Old Navy and it's the same shit throughout the whole store. Prices are not that cheap. More expensive than old navy almost the same as the gap.
the store is a bit deceptive cause they sell the same shit throughout the store. A shirt you see in one aisle will be repeated in another aisle maybe 5 feet away. The stuff is everyday crap and not very couture like H&M. Also they have fat American fits which is perfect for housewives but those who demand european cuts and form fitted shirts are shit out of luck. Bottom line is the store is nice but the clothes are just the same thing you've seen in Old navy and Gap countless times before.
It's alright. I'd personally shop at American Apparel for my basics cause I love the feel of their tshirts much better.
this place is crap. I went in to buy the red plaid flannel that terry richardson was sporting in the adverts but they didn't carry it. then I saw a guy rocking a black shiny tie in the posters around the store and in the catalog and I could not find it. I asked a store worker who got confused as to why it was in the ad and asked her boss and the guy said they didn't carry the tie or the plaid shirt and I said "why is it in all the pictures around here?" and he said it was just for decoration and to spruce up the real crap basic clothes.
There is virtually no difference between the type of cashmere in a $99 sweater versus that of a $200-300 sweater. It has to do with the purity and thickness of the cashmere fibers as well as the manufacturing quality of the fibre processing.
It is only when you get to higher price points that you would be able to notice a distinct difference between expensive cashmere and the cheaper stuff, as all the cashmere on the low-end is of similar grade and manufacturing quality.
Don't miss out on the Uniqlo Money (3 coupons good till December 3, 2006.) on page 85 of the catalogues piled up at the entrances of the Soho Flagship store. You get $15 off purchases over $75.
You're not supposed to be able to use these coupons with other offers, but this afternoon the cashiers in the lower level were letting customers combine the coupons with other discounts. Don't know for how much lower THAT will be going on.
( Note to Myszka: If you go to the lower level cashiers in the Soho store and they don't allow you combine offers, be easy on them. )
Didn't really have time to shop, but I just picked up a Uniqlo Gift Card for a friend.
The card doesn't have the amount "shown" on it anywhere on the card, so when I give the Gift Card, I'll include the receipt. It'll make gift giving easy for me b/c it's too hard shopping for people.
it was absolute mayhem at 1230, and the staff was less than knowledgeable about the whereabouts of some items. we can let them slide on that one. but i will say that qualitatively, it is BETTER made than american apparel. american apparel, from the top of the ceo's ratty hair down to the small type on their seedy little adverts, is garbage. there's no reason why a $60 hoodie should be separated, NOT SEPARATING, at the seams within 2 weeks of moderate wear. the fabric used for uniqlo clothing doesn't feel like the slime of rayon de rigeur at h&m. i dunno. i'm a sucker for bright lights and gleaming steel.
oh and there is nothing COUTURE at h&m. if there were, you wouldn't see 15 girls wearing the same damned outfit. with chains like h&m, aa, and uniqlo, they are bringing back 90s utility with a vengeance. next thing you know, those weird one shouldered back packs will be back in style.
the clothes are well made basics. But they are just basics. I already have basics. The next time I need socks and boxers I know I can shop at Uniqlo but they got 35,000 square feet of nothing else exciting.
Wow! The clothes were blah. You've seen the same thing at old navy. It's like old navy 1.5. so boring.
Uniqlo has always made their branding strategy apparent. When they opened in Japan, their goal wasn't to be the next "trendy" store. They've always wanted to be the store where you can get the basics and use it with whatever "in" pieces of that season.
When it opened in Japan, it was originally compared to being the "gap" of Japan. One thing that hasn't really followed with their move to the states are the prices. Uniqlo is slightly cheaper in Japan. Pants and jeans that retail here for 39 bucks cost 2,900 yen (which is about 32 bucks. Not that big of a difference. But when you compare the usual price for the cashmere (in Japan retails for 4,900-6,000 yen or 45-55 bucks) the regular price for these pieces will be 89.00.
If you need good quality basics, I suggest Uniqlo. They're clothes are really good quality. Yes, most of their pieces are pretty boring and bland and you could probably find the same thing at Old Navy but trust me, Old Navy/H&M/American Apparel/Forever 21's quality is crap compared to Uniqlo quality.
Jammer, I agree. American Apparel clothes are really poor quality. Their basic tees are ok but if you feel any of their other pieces, the material is so thin you can almost see through it.
I stopped by around 7 this evening. It was insane! The sales woman told me they sold over 1000 pieces of their cashmere sweaters.
Uniqlo sucks.
It'll be gone by next year.
Good luck buying your clothes at the Salvation Army, uniqlo haters. If you're reading this site, you must be too poor to afford the 'in' fashions you speak of.
Am I the only one who found there clothing cut a bit to big and baggy? There xs shirts can be like mediums at HM. and there jackets don't come in xs. Where are all these fat people in New York? I don't see it. Be it I'm male, 26, and 126 or so lbs, but am I the only one who finds there stuff cut huge? I never thought the Japanese were fat bunch.
As for it being basics, yes to some degree, but there's some really nice, pretty designs they offer. Take a look at the lookbook at uniqlo.com - its. all very stylish. Just wish it fit.
P.S. The Gap and Old Navy cut way too big as well.
Uniqlo is for fat people. The clothes are HUGE!!! It's for people who wear kmart stuff.
My biggest comment is the cashiers suck. They are going to have to make a roped area and have people go one at a time instead of piling up like cattle.
I was going to buy stuff but put it down and left.
i've shopped at uniqlo both in japan and in america (not in NYC at the moment to go to the new store though, can't comment on the stuff) and yes, the sizes are different. a medium polo i bought in japan is a small here.
but for the people claiming the stuff is for 'fat' people - uhh, try average? i'm a 22 year old male, 5'7, size 31 waist, about 150 lbs...and uniqlo stuff fits just fine. perhaps you tiny little people need to go to and put some more meat on your frames?
Sizes in Uniqlo = same as sizes anywhere else, based on the jeans I bought.
hey comment 22, as you say:
this means that yes, in fact, you are one of the fat people.
That is not fat - check the normal height/weight range charts.
126 lbs? Eat a sandwich!
wait, it's the "gap of japan"? why are the japanese bringing us the gap? we already have one on every other street corner. oh well, but it is a japanese brand with a cool minimalist style (aka plain)... so i'm going to get me some uniqlo jeans too! i can't wait!
wait, it's the "gap of japan"? why the hell are the japanese bringing us the gap??? we already have one on every other street corner! BUT... it *is* a japanese brand.. hmm... and it has that cool minimalist style (aka plain), so i think i will get a cheap cashmere sweater and some skinny jeans (salad all week!!!)... uniqlo rocks my world!
aaaaaaaahhhh is this thing on...check mic check...
comparing uniqlo to a store like h&m is like comparing apples and oranges, to put it simply. their missions are completely different--h&m purports to disseminate euro fashion for the general public; meanwhile, uniqlo wants their clothing to fade transparently into your wardrobe. american apparel is a much better comparison, but their target demographic is different.
someone else observed similarly, but if you're looking for a store to make your outfits up for you, obviously uniqlo is going to be a massive disappointment. this, however, i hold to be a good thing on all accounts. maybe it will help reduce the number of people sighted throughout the city who walk about looking like store mannequins--something uncreative but expected when wearing clothing like banana republic, but which is utterly ludicrous when said person is dressed in h&m's gratingly branded, disposable regurgitations of style.
simply put--if you've ever heard a stylist talk of building an outfit around one couture/other high-quality garment, uniqlo is the kind of clothing with which to do it. this is its intended purpose, and it does it well.
@ZB42: OK!