It literally translates to “no-name” and now Japanese household goods, apparel and food store MUJI has finally arrived in the capital.
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A long line of Canberrans waited outside the store this morning to be the first to explore minimalist aisles of cleaning utensils, make-up, hair care and stationery.
MUJI, short for Mujirushi Ryohin, translates to “no-brand quality goods". The opening of the iconic Japanese chain marks the completion of Canberra Centre's lifestyle precinct, Monaro Mall.
The store was officially opened by Japanese ambassador Sumio Kusaka and director of Muji's Asia and Oceanic division, Kei Suzuki.
Canberra Centre senior marketing manager Kelly McGufficke said the store had been packed since this morning.
“We think it's really refreshing to be able to offer this Japanese brand to our community and Canberrans have been much anticipating its arrival,” Ms McGufficke said.
The Canberra MUJI store is the fifth to open in Australia. MUJI offers more than 7000 products including clothing, homewares and beauty.
According to Mr Suzuki, MUJI provides simple, low cost, high quality original products to accommodate simple city living and promote sustainability.
“It is not just about selling products. Muji wants to contribute to Canberra’s community," he said.
"We believe Canberra is a very important city in Australia and the people here are already very environmentally conscious - living the lifestyles which the MUJI concept supports and values."
MUJI differs from other stores with its goal to give its customers “rational satisfaction”, Mr Suzuki said.
He said this means rather than changing the designs of products every year and over-marketing to the point where the value of the customer is lost, MUJI wants the product to speak for itself and be offered at a reasonable price.
"MUJI encourages a customer response of 'this will do' rather than 'I must have this'," Mr Suzuki said.
"The latter response expresses faint egotism and discord while the former expresses conciliatory reasoning.
“Nowadays, people living in big cities across the world have less living space so we give them a smarter way to live and smarter storage systems so they can live comfortably in smaller spaces."
A big part of MUJI's global popularity is its commitment to sustainable living. Many products are designed to have a very long life. For example, spare parts are sold in-store so broken products can be fixed, and MUJI towels have multiple seams so they can be cut down from a bath towel to a bath mat to a dusting cloth.
“I think Canberra customers are well educated and sensible, especially with the environment, and are thinking not only for themselves but for other people," Mr Suzuki said.
"I think Canberra people will appreciate the MUJI concept and support MUJI."
