Sy, Ahcy Mari P.

GEED 10063
BSA 1-12 Prof. Jose V. Clutario

UNIQLO on Globalization

The Japanese clothing store, named UNIQLO, offers affordable, simple, elegant garments
that’s “Made for all” was established in the year 1984 by Tadashi Yanai in Hiroshima, Japan.
Before claiming their place on the top list of the most profitable fashion stores around the world,
they had their fair share of downfalls, as well as controversies. Once they gained popularity in
Japan, in the year 1990s, they became confident and opened 1,700 stores across 18 countries, and
it didn’t turned out well. They weren’t popular enough in other countries, so their products
became unnoticed by the consumers, and in order to minimize the damages they decided to close
some of these and reduced it to 1,000 stores. Other reports say that the secret behind UNIQLO’s
affordable clothes is the underpaid suppliers in Bangladesh, China, and Vietnam, as for workers
from Bangladesh, they only earn as low as 21 cents per hour. An accident happened in 2013, that
made Bangladesh workers demand for upgrades to safety standards and inspections, but
UNIQLO didn’t do anything about this unlike other companies that compensate to this kind of
damage.

UNIQLO cope up with globalization by putting up stores around the world, with local
employees, instead of Japanese ones, because they’re more knowledgeable about the trends,
demands, and preferences of the locals than Japanese managers. Aside from this, their skills in
marketing and customer service are also improving that generates income to the company as
well. UNIQLO’s profit skyrocketed at $14 billon, because of this strategy. From traditional
advertisements, they moved to digital ones, for more engagements and wider audience. This
made UNIQLO even more popular to the public. They also used Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) “to push economic advancement of developing countries” that “encourages sustainable
business and economic independence”. UNIQLO maximized the use of globalization in this form
and in improving the equipment used in manufacturing. Old ones are upgraded to high-standard
technology to produce high quality products as well as for better distribution. These
improvements helped Bangladesh to be globally competitive.
 Successful businesses survived through time, because of their adaptability to change.
They come up with different plans on how to cope up with sudden changes in the market and
economy. Aside from the profit, it’s also important to give value to the workforce, as well as to
the consumers, because without them, profit will not generate. These profitable companies cope
up with globalization, and didn’t let themselves to be eaten by this advancement instead they
used it to their advantage.

Source:

https://icuhighschool.wordpress.com/2016/06/05/uniqlo-and-globalization/