Tokyo – Uniqlo has teamed up with Japanese consumer electronics retailer Bic Camera to open a co-branded store in the busy Shinjuku district.
The brand identity of the two retailers has been fused at multiple levels from the logo to merchandising. In a mash-up of uniforms from both brands, staff are dressed in simple black and white, with a new Bicqlo logo in the familiar Uniqlo red. Uniqlo is also selling special versions of its signature graphic t-shirts, designed in collaboration with nine home electronics manufacturers stocked by Bic Camera.
Mannequins around the store are dressed in Uniqlo and paired with Bic Camera products. Men’s chinos, for example, are displayed alongside large flatscreen tvs. Women’s jeans and clothes are placed next to pushchairs and washing machines. In a less stereotypical but slightly baffling pairing, men’s underwear is on sale next to bottles of spirits.
More retailers are collaborating with other brands to capitalise on each other’s strengths. Read our Symbiotic Branding macrotrend for more.