MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

Japan-based clothing brand UNIQLO has recently undertaken a expansive growth across the U.S. In 2014, UNIQLO entered the Philadelphia market with three stores: two at suburban malls and one in the center of the city. The store openings were touted by physical advertisements in malls, through UNIQLO’s online and physical stores and via social network sites. During the May opening of a UNIQLO store in King of Prussia, Pa., the offerings for first-in-line consumers included free tote bags, a visit by Hello Kitty and performances by a Taiko drum band.

This paper seeks to explore how such prominent store openings work to frame the brand for local consumers. Using Celia Lury’s (2004) suggestion that a brand works as an interface and continuously frames itself, it is possible to assume opening events have an impact on consumers’ subjective understanding. As such, promotions help to connect the brand through a variety of other cultural meanings. These meanings can develop from the consumer goods promoted by and sold in the store, as well as from associations with fictional characters and specific musical performances. By using better-known cultural products to promote store openings, the brand is able to draw off of the cultural recognitions in image creation.

Further, by examining physical store openings, it will be possible to see what imagery the corporation behind the brand sees as important and what is the desired framing of the brand. Whether consumers in the local market adopt that understanding of the brand image is a separate issue; still, store openings can act as an ideal construction of such meaning. This kind of interaction is part of an ongoing process in which managers, consumers and a host of other social actors influence understanding of and constructions of a brand.