Natsume targets Non-Japanese consumers

9.7

Rating

Natsume is a brand that we have been following since its inception. Founded by 4 MBAs from Tokyo,Natsume is developing a unique 100% made in Japan collection.

McKinsey keeps on telling that 10 exceptional luxury brands will emerge from Asia and we have no doubt that Natsume is one of them. 

The Asia Career Times believes that this company can go very far has they could meet current luxury requirements:

• Quality (using Japan high requirements)
• Authentic (100% of the design, materials (including Japanese laquer and silk) and handcraft is made in Japan) 
• Focus (they do not target massive sales and jump on China, they are very focused on their Niche)
• Slow Growth (Luxury Marketing is really different from other products and going too fast can make your product appear like a very common item)

For those reasons we believe that people interested in a career in Luxury should always keep an eye on Natsume.

Nastume can be visited at http://natsume-japon.com

Uniqlo aims at promoting the Next Generation of Business and Fashion Leaders between U.S. and Japan

UNIQLO today announces that it will establish the TOMODACHI-UNIQLO Fellowship in cooperation with the TOMODACHI Initiative, a public-private partnership led by the U.S. Government and the U.S.-Japan Council, to support the education of Japan’s next generation of business and fashion leaders.

Immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011, UNIQLO and other Fast Retailing Group companies started to distribute clothing with the aid of employee volunteers and donate funds in disaster-affected areas of the Tohoku Region. In March 2012 the Group initiated the UNIQLO Recovery Assistance Project, a mid-to-long-term aid program whereby UNIQLO began working with NGOs and opening stores in the hardest-hit communities of the region.

Fast Retailing Chairman, President and CEO Tadashi Yanai commented on today’s announcement and said, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the American people and the U.S. Government for their strong support toward Japan, including Japan’s economic recovery and growth, over the many years that our countries have been friends. Your kindness and friendship were especially felt last March, when we experienced such a tragic event in Tohoku.”

Yanai added, “The TOMODACHI-UNIQLO Fellowship is a new element of Fast Retailing’s ongoing commitment to contribute to society. Our role in the Fellowship is to open the eyes of, and indeed encourage, young talented Japanese people to become leaders in the areas of business and fashion by studying at top internationally-known U.S. schools.”

The TOMODACHI-UNIQLO Fellowship

UNIQLO joined the TOMODACHI Initiative, an initiative that was created by the U.S. Government and the U.S.-Japan Council with the support of the Japanese Government, after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami to primarily assist education in areas affected by the disaster. UNIQLO will start the TOMODACHI-UNIQLO Fellowship from September 2013.

The aim of the Fellowship is to send 10 promising Japanese citizens who wish to become business managers and fashion designers on the global stage to study for two years at universities and fashion design schools in the U.S., beginning in or after September 2013. A total of U.S. $1.6 million will be awarded to the Fellowship to provide for the scholarships.

Strangled by ageing Japan, Recruit extends its activities to Online Retail and Vietnam

The Media Japanese giant company Recruit has not so many years ahead to quickly change its business model.

Under the same Strategy called Recruit Global Family, the company is extending its activities both in terms of geographies and industries.

In 2 days it announced an investment in Vietnam but also a project to launch an online mall

The online mall will target companies such as Rakuten and Amazon.

In Vietnam Recruit is participate in the capital of  Mytour.vn is a domestic hotel booking website operated by Mytour Vietnam company limited. Through Recruit Global Incubation Partners Co.,Ltd., its investment subsidiary, Recruit joined with Vietnam Price Joint Stock Company to capitalize Mytour Vietnam. Vietnam Price Joint Stock Company, which operates Vietnam’s largest e-commerce site, and Recruit, which operates booking websites in a number of countries, will seek to make Mytour.vn the country’s largest hotel booking website and generate synergy in generating bookings as well as in operational terms.

However this Strategy still needs to demonstrate its sustainability. The fact that recruit is spreading its activities round too many different industries is questionable and a focused strategy might be ore effective. Also it is not sure if the company known for its low salaries can bring the technical and global talents needed in such an expansion.

Zara comforts its presence in China through online shopping

Zara comforts its presence in China through an online store. 1 month after its launch results are said to be extremely positive. This is a new milestone in Zara’s e-commerce business expansion into all of the markets in which it operates. The Zara website, www.zara.cn, will offer online shoppers the same full range of merchandise for women, men and kids as that found in high street stores.

The www.zara.cn site is designed to provide an outstanding user-friendly shopping experience and allow fashion fans to make their purchases from any of the browsers available in countries in which Zara has online shops. Items sold online are priced the same as those found in high street Zara stores, and customers can choose home delivery or have their purchases sent to a store of their choosing for pick up.

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Uniqlo to pursue its expansion on the east coast

5

Top Rating

New York – UNIQLO, the global clothing retailer, will open their new Paramus, New Jersey, store in the Westfield Garden State Plaza.

At 43,000 total square feet and two stories, the UNIQLO Westfield Garden State Plaza store will be their largest mall store in the world and will serve as the prototype for UNIQLO’s many future U.S. shopping mall locations.

Shin Odake, UNIQLO USA CEO and Richard LaBarbiera, Mayor of Paramus will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on opening day.

“Friday will be a very special day for UNIQLO as we open our doors to New Jersey. At UNIQLO, it is important for us to be a responsible neighbor in the communities we operate in, and to improve the world through our clothing. We look forward to showing the patrons of Westfield Garden State Plaza our innovative products, exceptional customer service and brand philosophy, Esays UNIQLO USA CEO Shin Odake.

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Why Home Depot failed in China by CEIBS

3.8

Rating

New Platform for Freelancers launched in India

NEW DELHI, Feb. 9, 2012 Freelancer.com, the world’s largest outsourcing and crowdsourcing marketplace today launched its newest dedicated country marketplace at www.freelancer.in.

Chief Executive Matt Barrie, in New Delhi for the launch, said at the press conference, “India is critical to our success. Over 1.2 million of 3 million plus users on our site come from India, making them number one by nationality, and the second largest user demographic in our global marketplace. We are pleased to now launch Freelancer.in to provide better features and support for India.” Read More

Uniqlo to enter the Philippines market in June

UNIQLO today announces that it will open its first retail location in the Philippines, the UNIQLO Mall of Asia Store, in June 2012 in Metro Manila. The launch will reinforce UNIQLO’s rapidly growing retail presence in Southeast Asia, following the recent introduction of UNIQLO locations in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The store will feature approximately 1,550 square meters of floor space within one of the region’s largest shopping centers, SM Mall of Asia, to offer Filipino shoppers all of UNIQLO’s latest fashions for men, women, and kids. Read More

Uniqlo To Break Japan's Traditional Recruitment Habbits

About 30 college freshmen and sophomores attended a job fair for Uniqlo Co. on Friday, the first such event since the clothing store operator said it would begin year-round hiring and end the distinction between new-graduate and midcareer hires. The Uniqlo job fair attracted enthusiastic college freshmen and sophomores. Tadashi Yanai, chairman and president of parent company Fast Retailing Co., told the crowd of 765 what kind of people Uniqlo is looking for and how it aims to become No. 1 in the world in clothing.

Uniqlo will switch to year-round hiring in the spring of 2013. It will take applications from not only college seniors poised to graduate, but also recent alumni and midcareer job seekers. Even first-year students will be eligible for a preliminary offer of a job upon graduation.

Hiring managers and midcareer employees speaking at the job fair stressed the importance of a global outlook.

"I came away thinking this is a company with passion," a Keio University sophomore said, adding that she hoped to have an interview "right away."

Limiting hiring to a particular time of year is "odd," Yanai told a news conference.

“It’s OK for a person to want to decide as a freshman where they want to work,” he said.

Asked to comment on proposals at the University of Tokyo and other big-name schools to shift the academic year to an autumn start, Yanai said that Japan’s “admissions not taking place in the fall was more of the anomaly.”

Incredible India budget back to Ogilvy & Mather Dehli

Ogilvy & Mather Delhi has been awarded the prestigious Ministry of Tourism (Incredible India) business.  This contract has been won following an open and competitive multi-agency pitch from among agencies across India.

Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman & Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather South Asia:  ”I am absolutely delighted that the Incredible India campaign that we had launched in 2003 is now back with us.  We look forward to doing some incredible work for India Tourism.”

With this win again, Ogilvy’s mandate over the next three years is to provide a strategy and creative vision.  This should align with and take Incredible India to the next level in both the domestic and international markets.

Sanjay Thapar, Group President – North & East, Management, Ogilvy & Mather, New Delhi:  ”Building a brand for the country is probably one of the highest honours that any agency can be given and I am so happy that we have received this opportunity once again for India. We launched Incredible India when the journey first began and will now partner with the Ministry of Tourism to take it to greater heights again. This is probably one of the best things that could happen to us at the start of 2012.”

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