The Success of Simplicity in Response to Consumerism — MUJI
Take a look around your room — on your shelves, in your closet, on your desk. Chances are you’ll find things that you haven’t used or touched in months; things you’ve held onto to “use in the future” that now only sit and collect dust. We’re all guilty of doing this but it’s not necessarily a bad thing — it is just a matter of to what extent this declutter has on our lives that could potentially burden us. Admittedly, here in America, we live in a materialistic society, buying and hoarding things for the sake of just having more things. We have developed a self-destructive addiction to faster living — caught in a chaotic, frenzied spiral as we chase money, power, success, and a wilder, faster pace of life. MUJI’s emphasis on minimalistic products and designs serves as a much-needed break from this fast pace of life and bustling society. It is this exact emphasis on minimalism and simplicity that has contributed to its appeal to American consumers. The success of MUJI in the United States can be attributed to the company’s acknowledgment of society’s extreme materialism and how their product approach to mediating this superficial lifestyle has called upon core American values of frugality, morality, and creativity in the perspective of our rather consumerist world.
At the time the Japanese retail company, MUJI, was founded in 1980, the United States was experiencing an unprecedented wave of social conformity, suburban culture, and consumerism as the Postwar Boom in the 1950s and 1960s (following WWII) placed a heavy emphasis on spending. This resulted in a rapid shift from extreme conservation (during the Great Depression and WWII) to extreme consumerism. Similarly, the American Dream ideal was becoming increasingly prevalent in everyday life as individuals worked harder and more hours to fulfill their desires for material wealth and achievement. These three factors ultimately contributed to a never-ending desire for more copious and extravagant goods as reflections of our success, to the point where many felt overwhelmed by their crammed schedules and overflowing possessions. Here, MUJI stepped in as a revitalizing alternative to traditional goods that are prone to cluttering and disorganizing our lives. Rather than focusing on getting consumers to buy more, MUJI focuses on timeless sophistication, quality, and functionality that allows consumers to buy less, manage less, and instead focus more on decluttering our lives. Their generic-looking products convey a sense of practicality that appeals to all consumers in need of quality stationery tools without all the unnecessary embellishments that have come to distract American lives. In today’s marketplace full of brands screaming for attention, MUJI represents the antithesis of consumerism, by attempting to solve the issue at its fundamental level. According to Toru Akita, president of MUJI Canada, the company uses frequent customer observation to “find invisible or unrealized stress and try to find a solution” (Lau) rather than create new products in the market with no functional purpose other than accessorizing. By doing so, MUJI products are created to simply solve issues in daily lives without unnecessary additions. It is this exact emphasis on simplicity that has contributed to its appeal to American consumers. Many of us today feel overwhelmed by our possessions and MUJI’s minimalism offers an escape from the contemporary issue of consumerism.
MUJI is obsessed with minimalism, reflected in all its brand elements which embody the concept of “Less is More.” This refreshing perspective entices American consumers who seek to regain their sense of order and clarity to fully engage with everyday life without unnecessary distractions. Taking a look at one of their most popular products, the MUJI Recycled Paper Bind A5 Notebook 6mm lined, one may not see the initial appeal of the small, plain-looking notebook. However, after a closer examination, one can see the innovation behind the product design: the perforated pages that prevent accidental tearing, the sewn binding that allows for writing ease for both right-handed and left-handed users, the faint grey lines that allow for creative doodling, the small guidelines at the top of each page to allow for easy vertical page division — all of these micro-considerations that many other competing stationery notebooks don’t acknowledge contribute to creating a more functional, day-to-day notebook. These micro-considerations have given MUJI an edge compared to its competitors and have garnered a positive reputation for the brand in America, by showcasing how the brand focuses more on innovative quality and design rather than profit.
Some critics may claim that the American value of aesthetics over functionality has mislabeled MUJI as simply another “foreign company selling generic products.” Tiffany Lung, a research analyst specializing in Asian retail strategy, innovations, and consumer behaviors, argues that MUJI’s lack of branding has made the company overall less memorable, and thus unsuccessful. Her central claim is that MUJI’s “very own brand philosophy and anti-America consumerism approach [has] led to their downfall,” and that this failure to account for American values has contributed to MUJI’s inability to grow in the United States stationery market (Lung). In other words, the traditional Japanese “kanketsu” mentality that emphasizes simplicity and self-restraint is too contradictory to the traditional American dream that emphasizes aesthetic and materialistic consumption. Although Lung does not say so directly, she apparently assumes that MUJI’s Japanese reflection of prudence and frugality automatically translates into an anti-American assumption of recklessness and self-indulgence. Although I agree with Lung that there is a stark difference between the consumeristic habits of Japan and the United States, I argue that it is precisely this contradictory American value that MUJI has embraced and used as its primary brand differentiation tactic. The brand’s relentless focus is on the product and does away with any unnecessary decoration or ornamentation. By maintaining this “generic,” simple branding, MUJI appeals to a unique group of American customers who are tired of consumerism and prefer a refreshing alternative to traditional branded goods. Moreover, MUJI has successfully created subliminal messaging in their products and company image that indirectly calls upon the core American values of frugality and morality.
Similar to other minimalistic companies like Uniqlo or Ikea (both of which have also originated in foreign nations and now successfully operate in American markets), MUJI’s focus on material selection, process streamlining, and packaging simplification allows the company to keep costs low and prices affordable. To maintain low marketing costs, MUJI spends almost no business capital on advertising and instead relies on word of mouth to advertise their products. This emphasis on simplicity and cost efficiency appeals to individuals from all different types of socio-economic backgrounds and makes MUJI products all the more appealing in the eyes of price-wary American consumers. By identifying a key American value of frugality, MUJI’s major cost avoidance strategies allow the brand to continue producing high quality, low priced goods that American consumers flock to buy. These low prices successfully translate into the American market by making it seem as though consumers are getting the best deals on their goods.
In addition to the simplicity and affordability of MUJI that has made the brand so appealing, their products also project an environmentally conscious company image that elicits positive, moral reactions, as the moral nature of environmentally-friendly behavior makes us feel good. With issues like global climate change and pollution becoming more prevalent in American discussions, “69% of environmentally-conscious [North-American] buyers … are ready to change their shopping habits to reduce negative impact on the environment” (Bekmagambetova). A simple glance into their stores and on their website reveals how MUJI projects a very raw and natural theme that emphasizes Earth and the environment: all of their goods are made with sustainability in mind and appear as though they were handmade; 90% of their products are sold only in shades of white, gray, cream and beige Earth tones. The MUJI Bind A5 notebook is manufactured out of recycled paper and consists of 30 light cream-colored pages that have skipped the bleaching process of traditional blinding-white notebook pages. Not only is this micro-consideration specifically designed to minimize strain on the eyes, but it also projects an environmentally-friendly image that makes American consumers feel good as if they are actively helping the environment. This altruistic feeling that comes with purchasing MUJI products entices customer loyalty, as customers subliminally associate MUJI with doing a moral good. Opting for MUJI’s minimalistic and sustainable products allows common people to gain a sense of selflessness, and serves as somewhat of an appropriate excuse for American spending habits.
A deeper analysis of MUJI’s products reveals that there are hardly any branded items (other than the occasional sticker labels that can easily be peeled off), thereby allowing for personalization and individualism — a characteristic that is heavily emphasized in our Western culture. This lack of branding not only serves as a refreshing alternative to the traditional “in your face” logos that many other companies use but also appeals to Americans who are seeking a “blank canvas” product that doubles as a creative outlet. Looking back at the MUJI Bind A5 Notebook, the recycled paper softcover has no designs, flashy colors, nor excessive ornamentation — it is meant to be customized to each consumer by the individual themselves. As the United States has one of the most individualistic cultures in the world, MUJI adequately fulfills American consumers’ desires to have ultimate control over their products.
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Bekmagambetova, Dinara. “Two-Thirds of North Americans Prefer Eco-Friendly Brands, Study Finds.” Barron’s, Barrons, 10 Jan. 2020, www.barrons.com/articles/two-thirds-of-north-americans-prefer-eco-friendly-brands-study-finds-51578661728.
Lau, Lucy. “Cult Japanese Brand MUJI’s Secret to Success Is All in the Details.” The Georgia Straight, 27 Jan. 2017, www.straight.com/life/860146/cult-japanese-brand-mujis-secret-success-all-details.
Lung, Tiffany. “Beyond The Pandemic: Why Muji Failed To Survive In The U.S.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 13 July 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/tiffanylung/2020/07/12/beyond-the-pandemic-why-muji-failed-to-survive-in-the-us/.
