Running Head: Supply Chain 1

Uniqlo: A Supply Chain Going Global

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 Running Head: Supply Chain 2

Uniqlo: A Supply Chain Going Global

Uniqlo is a clothing company owning approximately 1550 stores worldwide. It is the

fourth largest retail store in the world (Yen, 2020). Uniqlo was founded in March 1949 and has

ever since increased. It was established to make elegant men's suites but was later changed to

provide casual wear for all genders. Uniqlo first started as a single store, and a year after, they

opened another store, both in Japan. Uniqlo builds its name, and before 1998, it was the most

widespread clothing retail company store in Japan.

Uniqlo founded and adopted the “Specialty Store Retailer of Private Label Apparel”

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(SPA) model as its supply chain design. This model has been significant to most clothing chain

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stores, even in recent times. T Stores that use the SPA include GAP and H & M, among others.

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The shell fabric is one of Uniqlo's core competencies (Ye & Wu, 2016). Uniqlo concentrated on
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the price and quality of their clothing. They sell their clothes at an affordable and reasonable
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price hence attracting a considerable market. Uniqlo uses shell fabric when it comes to quality,
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which is the best in the clothing industry. Uniqlo preferred direct customer feedback on the

quality of their products to it satisfy its customers. Successful businesses do not make
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assumptions because it is not a brilliant business move. Uniqlo adjusted the products according
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to the likes and dislikes of customers. The SPA model's implementation was built on a responsive

supply chain, where partnerships with a specific number of suppliers were arranged in a network
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line structure (Yen, 2020).

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Businesses create a successful business by having a close relationship with the core

suppliers. Supplier relations are of importance because the company can direct the supplier on

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 Running Head: Supply Chain 3

the exact resources they need. Uniqlo used supplier relations to gain competitive advantages. A

good supplier relationship is essential for the improvement of performance.

Forecasting and inventory management are connected. Uniqlo has also adapted the Total

Chain Management (TCM) for product management. Total Chain Management focuses on sales

data and market data collection (Wei, 2017). The TCM helps Uniqlo acquire market data, and

then they forecast it and establish market volume and inventory. Forecasting is done by the

management team (Wei, 2017). Chain stores make this evaluation weekly and determine the

order and delivery dates, and then they sent the data to the headquarters. The headquarters

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dispatch the products to the respective chain stores.

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Uniqlo allocated different managers to different tasks to ensure the end product is of high
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quality. They also sent a group of craftsmen to the manufacturer's factory to guide the process,

which reduced production cost (Wei, 2017). The supply chain is accompanied by the risk of a
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lack of fixed sources at low prices. The supply of sources is essential for the stability of a chain
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store.
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Uniqlo first introduced itself in 2011 in New York. Yanai, the CEO of Uniqlo, was

anxious to see his business thrive in American soil. The competition was high, and that meant a
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limited market for Uniqlo. Most people preferred H & M or other stores because they supplied a
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wide range of goods. It was also a case of things they were used to purchasing. Uniqlo was only

keen on production rather than the fashion trend. Uniqlo later realized why he was operating on a
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loss through direct customer feedback. He adjusted the functioning of the chain store.

Uniqlo worked together with Microsoft and Casio and made a device that customers

could use to show what is available and at what price (Yen, 2020). The research was done by

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 Running Head: Supply Chain 4

Kim on online and offline shopping in Uniqlo. She collected different types of customers, and

from them, she established that people prefer to do offline shopping. Factors of the online

shopping mall image consist of shopping convenience, product information, price policy, and

trust. And characteristics of the offline store image have consisted of faith and store, product

information, service (Kim, 2013).

References

Anwar, T. S. (2017). Zara vs. Uniqlo: Leadership strategies in the competitive textile and

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apparel industry: Global Business and Organizational Excellence. 2017;36(5):26–35. DOI:

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10.1002/joe.21805

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Kim, Jie-yurn. (2013). 유니클로의 온라인과 오프라인 이미지가 멀티채널 브랜드 구
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매의도에 미치는 영향. 복식문화학회지:복식문화연구, 21(1), 42–56.

https://doi.org/10.7741/RJCC.2013.21.1.042
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Usui, T., Kotabe, M., & Murray, J. Y. (2017). A dynamic process of building global
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supply chain competence by new ventures: The case of Uniqlo. Journal of International

Marketing, 25(3), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1509%2Fjim.16.0052

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Wei, J. (2017). Proceedings of the 2017 7th International Conference on Mechatronics,

Computer and Education Informationization (MCEI 2017): the study of Uniqlo's supply chain
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management. https://dx.doi.org/10.2991/mcei-17.2017.19
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Yen, B. (2020). “Uniqlo: A Supply Chain going Global”

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http://www.fastretailing.com/eng/ir/library/pdf/presen0801128_nagai.pdf

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 Running Head: Supply Chain 5

Ye, C. and Wu, Y. “葉翀, & 武彦瑾” (2016). Research on Fabric Supplier Selection of

Uniqlo based on Strategic Sourcing.

http://reposit.sun.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10561/1187/1/v8p117_ye.pdf

Zara vs. Uniqlo:

Leadership strategies

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textile and apparel
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industry
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Zara vs. Uniqlo:

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Leadership strategies
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in the competitive
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 Running Head: Supply Chain 6

textile and apparel

industry

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