The following is excerpted from an interview with Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President & CEO of Fast Retailing Co.
The novel coronavirus, which has caused so many deaths, poses fundamental questions to us. What does it mean to live? What do we work for? Our values have changed, and this is an opportunity to review our daily lives. I've stopped spending money on unnecessary things. As time spent at home increased, demand for casual clothes rose but fancy clothes did not sell well.
The dark side of fashion is that designers imagine a fictional world and try to push consumers toward a kind of lifestyle. This approach will no longer be supported, and consumption will shift to items actually needed for daily life.
I received a letter the other day from the mother of a physically handicapped child. She said that the front-opening underwear we now sell at Uniqlo made it "easy to change clothes."
I think only clothing stores that make things for the consumer will be able to survive.
--Strength of SPA
After Fast Retailing Co. listed as a public company in 1994, I went on an inspection tour of a U.S. company with the aim of acquiring it. According to a survey, U.S. consumption of apparel is lower than that of Japan. This is strange, as there are so many more people in the United States than in Japan.
In Japan, department stores played a leading role in apparel sales. So wholesalers and various other people were involved before the clothes were delivered to the consumers. Costs were inflated and added to the selling price. Japanese people like new clothes, so they bought them without much hesitation even at high prices.
I think requests from the customers got completely changed from the time customers stated those requests at sales sites, to the time they reached manufacturers.
As a specialty retailer of private-label apparel (SPA), we plan, make and sell products. Smartphones and tablets have made it easier to get customer feedback. We will change what needs to be improved in making clothes and other products.
Because of the new coronavirus, more and more people don't want to go to stores or want to spend less time there. We have to respond to these voices.
--Go back to fundamentals
If a company cannot make real [stores and products] succeed, it cannot succeed at EC (electronic commerce) either. If consumers are disappointed when they see the products delivered to their home, they won't buy them next time.
At our store, we make clothing suggestions via tablets. Choose a picture you like and you'll see where the item is in the store. Customers don't care if it's real or virtual. They just want good products. We must be a brand that can be chosen by customers.
Before clothing stores move toward digital commerce, I want to say them, "Go back to your clothes business." Making good clothes is the most important thing.
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