Tadashi Yanai And UNIQLO Success Story

Do you know about UNIQLO brand?

This time I will write about their inspiring and success story. :D This is about Tadashi Yanai, a founder and owner of Uniqlo, He is considered of “one of the most rich in Japan”.

Tadashi Yanai was born in 1949 in Ube Town, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. He is smart and because of that he can manage to entering Waseda University in politic and economic major degree.

But, after graduated from Waseda University he forced to do what his father want, to take over his family business, Ogori Shoji. Since then he begin to manage his small store that specialized of it is coat making for man.

But in his mind, he always have ambition to change this business drastically and he want to make more than just one store.

Since young Tadashi Yanai have a travelling hobbies, when still in the college he take a student exchange program in England and his travelling habit still continuing even until he take over his family business.

The idea to change his clothing business is came when Tadashi went to Thailand in 1985. He intentionally came to Thailand because he want to study their market value. He did impressed  when see so many casual clothes from China sold with cheap price in there. Then after that Tadashi make a decision to change his business strategy.

Since that time, he change his business from formal coat to casual clothes and importing all his product directly from China. Don’t you think it is so brave? Totally change his business that has been passing through generation to generation. :o

By importing clothes material directly from Guangzhou and Shanghai, production cost can reduced until 90%,  so the price of his product can be more cheap when sold to costumer.

This is tips and trick from Tadashi Yanai for young man that want to be “SUCCESS” :

1.       Don’t easy to say “Ah, I can’t”

A young man who feel don’t have a business or entrepreneur talent in himself should still try first. Long ago Tadashi ever feel like that too, being feel not suitable with business job or even become an entrepreneur. But when he try it, on the contrary he even enjoy it. That’s why young man nowadays should not too fast to conclude that he is not suit with something.

2.       Always Get Inspiration From Anywhere

Tadashi success story are strongly related from his inspiration that he got when traveling since young. If you can get a positif benefit from this hobby, it’s not impossible for you to be successes like Tadashi.

3.       Don’t Be Shy to Learn From Your Competitor

Tadashi build his business from ZERO. He even don’t know how to produce a product with cheapest price. In his beginning, he build a joint business with Giordano to produce Uniqlo’s product. He even imitate GAP production system, GAP has been one of the best player in business retail.

4.       Leave Your Home! Go Out From Your Area!

Commonly, a young man feel swelled head and feel the most successes in their home town. But actually if he go out from his home town, he is still nothing. Leaving hometown is important, so you can experiencing a “real competition” out there.

5.       Develop Your Business Out of Comfort Zone

Tadashi break all his comfort zone in his life when he build his own business kingdom.

-          He is leaving his coat store that has been passed down through generation to generation and change his business direction to casual clothes.

-          He bravely take a risk to open many UNIQLO’s branch in many country at once. This is really different with many other Japan Company that only take a local market to compete. In UNIQLO’s first try to going global, Tadashi open 22 branch of UNIQLO in London plus 3 store in New Jersey.

6.       If You Want to be Success, You Will Failed First. But It Doesn’t Mean You Won’t Be Successes

A story about Tadashi carrier will be a perfect example that how a failure always come before success. Do you believe how many failure Tadashi has been got?

-          All UNIQLO’s branch in overseas totally failed at the beginning. In 1,5 years all UNIQLO branch are closed. It is happen because UNIQLO doesn’t figured on about western cloth size.

-          UNIQLO ever got an opinion as “the most uncool” and “oldish” clothing brand in Europe and America.

-          To settle that stigma, Tadashi until have to pay famous designer from Japan and Europe to revising his product to be more “cool”.

-          UNIQLO even take an advantage from financial crisis in 2008 to take over two high class retail company, Theory and Helmut Lang. It will be really useful for UNIQLO to penetrate America and Europe market.

7.       You Don’t Have to Follow The Trend

Tadashi build UNIQLO without ever follow a fashion trend. He want to make a cheap clothes, can be used anytime and suitable for everyone. No matter what people said that it is a crazy idea in the clothing business world, but Tadashi bravery turn out to be an impressive outcome. Now, UNIQLO’s selling around the world has been compete with fashionable product such as Zara and H&M.

8.       Learn English Language

This Tadashi message are come from his concern when he see how a Japanese young man are not ready to face a globalization. But I think it is not only for Japanese, it is valid too with a country which doesn’t have an English as their major language like my country.

He said Japanese young man have everything, such as smart brain, technology, financial capital, hardworker , etc but they are reluctant to speak English. So it make them incapable to compete in global competition.

Because of this, Yanai has declared English as his company language. So his company can be more global.

Interesting, isn’t? Don’t look Tadashi Yanai and UNIQLO at it is wealth, look at their effort instead. :D They teach us the guts to never give up even when facing a serious failure. Hope this article will motivate us and good luck with your own business. J