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MUJI
Posted by: Cane on 5th Nov 2010 in Opinion
Japanese retailer Muji have had a presence here in London for nearly 20 years now. What started 30 years ago out of a supermarket with just a handful of products, has grown into an empire that provides the whole gamut of domestic items to consumers across the world, from cat-shaped paper clips, to earthquake survival packs. Back home, they also run cafés, campsites, a cut flower delivery service and are turning their attentions to motor vehicles and even houses.
The full title of ‘Mujirushi Ryohin’ (No Brand, Quality Goods) begins to explain their approach. The aim initially was to provide useful, low-impact goods at an affordable price, without compromising quality.
Goods are unadorned, available in a limited palette of muted colours and are often made of, or packaged in recycled materials. Consequently the ‘anti-brand’ that they’ve created has it’s own unique aesthetic, and is easily recognisable, in spite of having no logos or identifying markers.
So how does a no-frills retailer maintain prime premises across London and a dedicated customer-base, rather than getting consigned to the ‘economy’ category? It's a very shrewd balance of enconomy and sophistication.
Partly it’s down to who they pick to work with. They’ve stocked consumer electronics designed by Naoto Fukasawa and Sam Hecht (phone shown below); furniture by Jasper Morrison and Konstantin Grcic (furniture images above); and drafted in Yohji Yamamoto to help overhaul the fit of their clothing lines. Although these celebrity associations aren’t advertised, it doesn’t take long for word to spread amongst aficionados on the internet, driving-up demand and validating the brand’s cool credentials. Indeed, like Apple, Moleskine, Lamy etc it has a loyal fan-base of consumers here who laud and obsess over it’s product.
Perhaps it has exported so well here partly thanks to it's minimal, resolved product supporting the fantasy vision of Japan amongst Westerners as a mystical land of zen balance; enlightenment and spirituality.
Muji’s most recent venture at home in Japan has been Muji Village in Tsudanuma, on the north side of Tokyo Bay. It’s a residential complex of 150 units across three blocks, each costing around £100,000. In true modernist tradition the project even has some shared living-spaces for residents to mingle.
From the photos, Muji Village seems like a very agreeable place to live. It’s easy to forget though that the genesis of this ever-diversifying business had a financial rather than an aesthetic drive. In the past their products included off-cuts of shitake mushrooms and spaghetti ends, things that were otherwise literal waste. The pared-back look that we know and love now is merely a considered consequence of this economy. True elegant frugality.
Muji have seen steady growth and ambitious diversification, and their no-nonsense approach has certainly struck a chord with an increasingly design conscious European consumer base. So it’s anyone’s guess what they will refine and reduce next…
We're very keen to see what the Muji space programme looks like.
Below; Muji's 2001 limited edition car collaboration with Nissan Motors. As you'd expect; fuel efficient, low-emission and low-cost. It incorporated recycled materials wherever possible and had limited polish. Following their no-brand philosophy, the car had no logos...
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Posted by: Cane on 5th Nov 2010 in Opinion
Japanese retailer Muji have had a presence here in London for nearly 20 years now. What started 30 years ago out of a supermarket with just a handful of products, has grown into an empire that provides the whole gamut of domestic items to consumers across the world, from cat-shaped paper clips, to earthquake survival packs. Back home, they also run cafés, campsites, a cut flower delivery service and are turning their attentions to motor vehicles and even houses.
The full title of ‘Mujirushi Ryohin’ (No Brand, Quality Goods) begins to explain their approach. The aim initially was to provide useful, low-impact goods at an affordable price, without compromising quality.
Goods are unadorned, available in a limited palette of muted colours and are often made of, or packaged in recycled materials. Consequently the ‘anti-brand’ that they’ve created has it’s own unique aesthetic, and is easily recognisable, in spite of having no logos or identifying markers.
So how does a no-frills retailer maintain prime premises across London and a dedicated customer-base, rather than getting consigned to the ‘economy’ category? It's a very shrewd balance of enconomy and sophistication.
Partly it’s down to who they pick to work with. They’ve stocked consumer electronics designed by Naoto Fukasawa and Sam Hecht (phone shown below); furniture by Jasper Morrison and Konstantin Grcic (furniture images above); and drafted in Yohji Yamamoto to help overhaul the fit of their clothing lines. Although these celebrity associations aren’t advertised, it doesn’t take long for word to spread amongst aficionados on the internet, driving-up demand and validating the brand’s cool credentials. Indeed, like Apple, Moleskine, Lamy etc it has a loyal fan-base of consumers here who laud and obsess over it’s product.
Perhaps it has exported so well here partly thanks to it's minimal, resolved product supporting the fantasy vision of Japan amongst Westerners as a mystical land of zen balance; enlightenment and spirituality.
Muji’s most recent venture at home in Japan has been Muji Village in Tsudanuma, on the north side of Tokyo Bay. It’s a residential complex of 150 units across three blocks, each costing around £100,000. In true modernist tradition the project even has some shared living-spaces for residents to mingle.
From the photos, Muji Village seems like a very agreeable place to live. It’s easy to forget though that the genesis of this ever-diversifying business had a financial rather than an aesthetic drive. In the past their products included off-cuts of shitake mushrooms and spaghetti ends, things that were otherwise literal waste. The pared-back look that we know and love now is merely a considered consequence of this economy. True elegant frugality.
Muji have seen steady growth and ambitious diversification, and their no-nonsense approach has certainly struck a chord with an increasingly design conscious European consumer base. So it’s anyone’s guess what they will refine and reduce next…
We're very keen to see what the Muji space programme looks like.
Below; Muji's 2001 limited edition car collaboration with Nissan Motors. As you'd expect; fuel efficient, low-emission and low-cost. It incorporated recycled materials wherever possible and had limited polish. Following their no-brand philosophy, the car had no logos...
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