As promised here is a little report on Uniqlo Paris. It was a frenzy yesterday at the new Opera store; by lunch time they had to organize everyone into line ups, but they were obviously prepared for the onslaught of shoppers as they had some very handy visible signs indicating were the end of the line was. Once you entered a P.A. welcomed everyone to Uniqlo in Paris in an audible Japanese accent. It also made apologies for the long waits; how polite and Japanese of them. One could tell tell the design of the store is Wonderwall, by its structure and choice of materials, they were also responsible for the Colette shop in Paris.
There were line ups for everything: to go upstairs, to pay for purchases, to get into the change room…no surprise there. The prices are rather good; 14€ t-shirts 19€ plaid flannel shirts, 39€ for a puff jacket. I was surprised that when there were still +J pieces available, in the afternoon, but maybe they just have a lot to fullfill de demand.
I have the feeling that we will be seeing a lot of Uniqlo in the streets of Paris as the French took pretty well to its arrival “en force”. Their marketing campaign was extensive; and I think it has payed off. Months back I had read a very interesting interview withe , the owner of fast retailing Uniqlo’s parent company. He spoke about some of his business strategy which included adapting to the market in which his brands are sold. Having a collaboration collection of t-shirts by famous French brands. Good. Having a plethora of recognizable French icons in a range of ages from actress Emmanuel Seigner to Sébastien Tellier representing neighbourhoods in Paris. Very good. Make a connection to your target market through recognizable symbols.
And not only the French were there, even style.com’s Tommy Ton made a stop by before heading to Balmain!

It will be interesting to follow the impact that the arrival of this company in France; it should raise the bar in terms of merchandising and marketing for French retailers. Laura Minquini