Less Mania for Brands As Individuality Rules

[Lena]

so, there is hope
all those late night prayers to the gods of non-status style
were not in vain after all

Published: Monday, December 11, 2006

Japan's New Consumer: Less Mania for Brands As Individuality Rules
By Miles Socha with contributions by Koji Hirano

TOKYO — Seeing the long queue of colorfully dressed hipsters snaking outside the front door, one could easily mistake the Bathing Ape flagship in Aoyama here for a nightclub — if it weren't 10:30 on a Saturday morning.

The occasion was the release of new sweatshirt and sneaker styles by Bathing Ape's cult designer Nigo, whose wild popularity is emblematic of a burgeoning homegrown fashion wave in Japan.

While major European luxury brands work furiously to eke out single-digit sales increases in the face of a weak yen and a maturing market, certain Japanese labels are thriving in the wake of fundamental changes reverberating through this affluent consumer paradise. Long driven by status, consumers here are now shopping with more confidence and discretion, spending for personal satisfaction and well-being rather than showing off wealth, agree retailers, brand executives and other observers.

Distinctions between imported and domestic brands also are blurring, setting the stage for up-and-coming labels such as mercibeaucoup, Dress Camp, Mosslight and Sacai to make substantial inroads at home and abroad.

Consider the selection at the trendy, dungeon-like boutique Loveless in Aoyama, where Japanese brands such as Green and Foundation Addict share the racks with clothes by the likes of Stella McCartney, Andrew Gn and Moncler. Local brands now represent 30 percent of the merchandise on display, a percentage that has been steadily rising.

"Whether it's a famous brand or not is not a big matter," said a spokesman for the store. "We want difference and so do our customers."

Or consider the scene at Isetan, a leading Japanese department store and a bellwether for retail trends. The second floor, where young brands are showcased, was heaving with shoppers on a recent Saturday, with stands for local brands M-Premier and Tomorrowland as mobbed as ones for foreign labels like Burberry Blue Label.

"They're just looking for products according to their taste," said Chihiro Nihashi, executive vice president and director of Isetan's business planning and operations division, noting those three brands are among the floor's top performers. "Japanese customers don't distinguish between domestic brands and imported brands."

That wasn't always the case. Although renovations are erasing such distinctions at sprawling Takashimaya in Shinjuku, one can still find stretches of the pink-and-green checkered carpet that has long demarcated the retailer's import zone.

When that carpet starts, every Japanese shopper knows they've entered a different world," explained Michael Burke, chief executive officer of Fendi, which recently staged a global launch in Tokyo for its B. Mix handbag line, with the event curated by Nigo as a way to address a changing market. "That's been the model for the last 30, 40 years. Everyone is questioning that model."

To wit: Isetan, which long displayed footwear by brand — with corners for Tod's, Fendi and the like — recently unveiled a remodeled floor in which different collections are blended. Nihashi said this addresses the fact that customers are buying according to their style preference and their comfort, rather than by label.

In the past, European brands typically stocked all their Japanese outlets with the same selection. No more, said Burke. "Now we are starting to see variability in the stores, and we merchandise them all differently," he said. "There's a lot less mimicking and more research on the part of consumers, which is good for us."

"[The Japanese] know fashion very well," echoed Silvia Venturini Fendi, accessories director and men's wear designer for the brand. "I noticed all the girls have the latest shoes, the latest bags. They follow the competition very well. You can't just give them a logo bag."

Indeed, many observers noted brands are no longer the primordial factor in consumer choices and neither is fashion as luxury spending diversifies into other product categories.

"Many years ago, Japanese people would buy fashion products and luxury goods as a symbol of social status, even if you had to save three months to buy one Louis Vuitton handbag," explained Izumi Sasano, ceo of Giorgio Armani Japan Co. Ltd. "Now they're looking for products that better meet their lifestyle. That may be a spa; it may be nice food or nice drinks. It may be special holidays. Everything is around lifestyle, which is more personalized."

"There is less aspiration for brand names," agreed Kundo Koyama, a prominent Tokyo television producer and media personality who also advises luxury brands on their communication strategies. "Nowadays people spend more for comfort and wellness, even if it's not seen by other people." For example, he said new homes being built tend to have simple, not ostentatious, facades, but are packed with amenities inside.

part one of the wwd.com article

 

[ApertureRomance]

Very interesting thankyou ! Especially since streetwear is about to 'blow up' or one could argue it already has after that New York Times article , the implosion has started I guess with a change in spending habits because streetwear somewhat relies on the Japanese market.

 

[Alliecat]

So is individuality the sign of the times? Japan has been changing at a dramatic pace yet at times the striving for individuality creates it's own identity. The fact that local talent is being supported (and sold at the same level as 'big name' designers) I think is great as it keeps things fresh.

 

[Lena]

second -and last- part

"People know that they cannot become happy only by being surrounded with luxury brands," added Hirofumi Kurino, managing director and chief creative officer for popular specialty retailer United Arrows Ltd. "They look for happiness and satisfaction within their mind. Yoga, spa, therapy, superluxury cosmetics, small plastic surgeries, studies and museums are some of the examples."

That doesn't mean they've totally lost their taste for fashion. Certain local designers are thriving, for instance.

"The new Japanese are genius," said designer Karl Lagerfeld, a self-professed clotheshorse who now counts among his favorite labels Mastermind, Number Nine, Undercover and Attachment. Lagerfeld wore them almost exclusively at last week's Chanel pre-fall extravaganza in Monte Carlo.

"They're very sharp," he said of the new wave of Japanese labels. "I have unbelievable things."

Kunihiko Morinaga, designer of popular Tokyo brand Anrealage, said he is posting sales increases close to 50 percent every season, and interest from overseas clients is growing.

International retailers said this latest wave of Japanese labels offers something unique.

"The price is competitive and the style is competitive. They have talent," said Cindy Ho, commercial director at Kuwait-based retailer Villa Moda, which next spring will start stocking such brands as mercibeaucoup, Ne-net and Mint Designs.

Ho said such labels specialize in what she calls "luxury streetwear. You don't find those kinds of categories elsewhere in the world. The Japanese designers still have a twist on clothing. Even if it's only a T-shirt, it's different."

Nigo said he has noticed some luxury brands introducing items with a streetwear look, cognizant that Japanese consumers have developed a taste for local brands. Still, he acknowledged, consumers still take many cues from abroad. For instance, Nigo said sales of one of his sneakers skyrocketed in Japan after a prominent U.S. rap star was photographed wearing them.

Andrew Keith, vice president of merchandising at Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, said, though, that local hipsters increasingly take their style and pop culture cues from Tokyo. "Japan is becoming an important resource for us, and we are intending to invest more heavily in Japanese brands going forward," Keith said, noting for example that the Japanese denim brand Evisu is the retailer's number-one performer.
Keith said Lane Crawford's Japanese selection is heavy on men's wear, since the department store was an early adopter of the trend. The selection includes such brands as Halb, Kiminori Morishita, Lad Musician, Kolor and Lounge Lizard.

Certain Japanese brands are even charting retail expansion abroad. Hot Japanese accessories firm Samantha Thavasa opened a Madison Avenue flagship in New York last month, while Noriem, a purveyor of various clothing, accessories and home items, just opened an 8,000-square-foot flagship on burgeoning Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris. Owned by Japanese Group Senso Unico, Noriem already boasts outlets in Milan and Shanghai.

Nigo is extending his Bathing Ape empire into Los Angeles next summer, while expanding in London and searching for retail space in Paris. And Uniqlo, after opening a megastore in New York, said it is charting future flagships in Shanghai, Milan and Paris.

Observers agreed the rise of local brands hardly spells disaster for foreign players, even if overseas brands have entered a slow-growth phase in Japan. Principal among the factors is the weak yen, which makes European goods more expensive. According to Isetan's Nihashi, at least one European luxury brand is 80 percent more expensive in Japan than in Paris, which underscores why domestic labels are becoming more attractive.

Still, Jacques-Franck Dossin, luxury analyst at Goldman Sachs in London, stressed the appetite for luxury goods in Japan remains strong, and foreign companies will continue to invest in major stores and events to secure their brand franchise and bolster their pricing power.

Sasano said he continues to see significant growth potential in Japan, where the Armani brand is underexposed versus other competitors. While established European luxury players typically boast around 40 stores each, Armani has only 11 in Japan for its top line and 14 for Emporio. Sasano said women's wear and accessories are underdeveloped and provide expansion potential.

Next fall, Armani will unveil a 13-story tower in Ginza with a selection that reflects the diversification in local spending. The tower will house the Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani and Armani Casa ranges, as well as a restaurant, bar and spa, Sasano added.

The Armani tower will be the latest in the recent rush by foreign luxury brands to open megastores in Tokyo, including Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton and Gucci. Many of these stores offer product styles exclusive to the Tokyo market and, increasingly, also include cafes and other services aimed at providing customers with a total lifestyle experience rather than simply shopping. The goal is to provide the uniqueness the Japanese are demanding more and more.
"Japanese consumers these days look for emotional reasons to buy fashion goods," said Morinaga of Anrealage. "Looking cool is not enough. The merchandise needs to move the consumers. And when they literally have a close look at the goods and find fine work, they consider that it's worth buying them."

from wwd.com

 

[susie_bubble]

I've certainly witnessed this in Hong Kong, an increasing support for local/Asian brands and though clamouring for brands like LV, Gucci are still very very strong in the accessories department, clothing wise, people are a little wiser to certain Japanese brands. I'm not sure whether this is a move forward towards individuality though - it just seems like a progression in fashion savvy-ness

 

[dsq]

ugh, i can't believe they used bathing ape as their main example for brands with individuality. bathing ape is the ultimate epitome of buying into a brand, their clothings are not worth the price they charge for the quality you get, people buy it because it has the ape on it. at least use rpm45 or another japanese label (can't think of another one off the top of my head) that concentrates on the fabric and the quality of the article more than brand name promotion.

 

[kisa]

This is a very interesting article, but it made me think about how this would translate in the West. I wonder if it could be said that Japanese labels are a symbol of status for young people in the West. I think people slightly younger then me, who grew up when anime started to saturate North American youth television networks have a high interest in Japan and Japanese popular culture. I know people who hold all things Japanese in extremely high esteem! I think celebrities are taking advantage of this, especially people like Gwen Stefani and Japan is just becoming more popular overall. What I am getting at is I don't know if I think that there is less brand mania, I think that Asian things especially Japanese things are becoming very popular all over the world and Japanese people are buying into their own extremely popular culture. But also I think that Japan is one of the most experimental places for fashion in the world, so I would just as likely believe that Japanese people are ditching brands in favour of individuality!

 

[HBoogie]

An emphasis on local brands is great, whether it's in Tokyo, New York or anywhere else.

However, is a local brand really a local brand if it was pieced together in a factory in Bangladesh?

Just my two cents.

 

[lcm]

^ TRUE STORY! hehe