Heads up, hipsters: Muji’s coming
No frills shopping: Minimalist Japanese retailer reportedly heading to Vancouver
They say that timing is everything, and nowhere is that adage more tested than in the retail marketplace, where success depends as much on the prevailing consumer climate as it does on the product one is selling.
So the recent news that Japanese retailer Muji is coming to Vancouver — the firm is notoriously tight- lipped and not forthcoming with details, but word is that it will open shop here sometime in the next year or so — isn’t such a surprise.
That’s because Muji seems a perfect choice for Vancouver, what with our increasingly diverse multicultural customer base and a growing consumer bent for stylish, economical goods.
Muji, which has 270- plus stores worldwide and is opening its first Canadian location in Toronto later this year, is renowned for its innovative no- brand, no- logo strategy — its products have been called “quiet” — which makes it uber cool and thus a magnet for urban hipsters, as well as discerning millennials, trendconscious boomers and the farmers’ market crowd who want to be stylish but don’t want anyone to know they care as much as they do about such things.
Muji’s corporate mantra is “kanketsu,” which translates as simplicity. What that means is they manufacture goods that are deliberately spare in style and neutral in hue, in a limited colour range that leans toward white and tan, and weighted toward utilitarian purpose that is literally no- frills.
In a way, the Muji look might best be described as Japanese mid- century, the eastern version of the minimalistic design enjoying a North American renaissance.
Known for its commitment to fiscal and environmental responsibility, Muji eschews not only layers of useless packaging ( products are wrapped in cellophane or brown paper, for instance, with simple tags written in red), but also steers clear of high- priced locations for its stores, and doesn’t seem to care much about the competition, the closest in Metro Vancouver perhaps being the Swedish behemoth that is Ikea.
Unlike Ikea, however, Muji goes beyond selling housewares, furniture and tchotchkes. Its stock ranges from furniture and clothing to stationery and kitchen appliances and even cars and houses. The former was a limited- edition 2001 collaboration with Nissan that produced the Muji Car 1000. It came only in white. The company’s pre- fab concept house, for dwellers in tightly packed Tokyo, is a split- level light box, all white with floor- to- ceiling glass and cantilevered staircases.
Also unlike Ikea, Muji chooses to keep its designers out of the limelight, which has not stopped it from winning design awards or being the subject of a book on its esthetic.
Muji stands for Mujirsi Ryohin, which the firm says translates to “no- brand quality goods.” It was founded in 1980 as the private label of one of Japan’s big supermarket chains, and if there is a corporate comparison to be made on Canadian soil it would be that of Joe Fresh, the fashion arm of Loblaw/ Real Canadian Superstore.
Today, Muji’s worldwide empire includes nine U. S. outlets. As for expansion into Canada, the firm’s acknowledgment of its plans amounts to a “Hello Torontonians” greeting over a link to the Globe and Mail story on the Muji Canada Facebook page. It has a been reported that the Canadian stores will stock about 3,000 items, less than half of the usual 7,000- plus items of its Japanese outlets.
Like all retail newcomers to Metro Vancouver, Muji’s rumoured arrival is creating something of a stir, much like the still unconfirmed buzz that Uniqlo — the “Japanese Gap” — is headed our way.
After all, despite our protestations about the high cost of living in paradise, we do like to shop in this town.
The question though, as always, is whether that interest will translate into a sustainable business, whether Metro Vancouver’s market can bear yet another trendy retailer, especially given that Muji is known to boldly cross boundaries without benefit of a promotional machine or even advance market research.
It’s no secret that cheap and cheerful Target — for stylish low- enders — has been struggling since heading north of the border, and the jury is still out on whether tony Nordstrom — for stylish highenders — will thrive once it opens its doors on the corner of Granville and Georgia.
What may work in Muji’s favour is simply that it’s so different, and that its walletfriendly vibe and chic oeuvre will not go unnoticed by consumers in a corner of the world where many can barely afford a new couch after buying the house to put it in.