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전 세계의 균형 잡힌 브랜드를 매월 하나씩 소개하는 광고 없는 월간지 『매거진 B(Magazine B) No.53: 무인양품(MUJI)(영문판)』. 생활에 필요한 잡화를 판매하는 브랜드 무인양품(영문명: 무지 Muji)에 대해 살펴본다. 칫솔부터 침대, 테이블 그리고 가전까지 삶에 쓰이는 거의 모든 제품을 선보있는 무인양품은 ‘이유가 있어 저렴하다’로 시작한 브랜드 메시지는 ‘이것으로 충분하다’로 시대를 이어가며 오늘에 이르렀다. 아울러 최초 40여 종의 제품을 선보인 무인양품은 현재 7000여 품목을 취급하고 있으며, 무지 하우스 프로젝트를 통해 주택 비즈니스로 관심을 넓히는 중이다.

Magazine B is an ad-free monthly publication that dedicates each issue to one well-balanced brand unearthed from around the globe. The magazine introduces the brand’s hidden stories, as well as its sensibility and culture, and is an easy but also serious read for anyone with an interest in brands.

■ About the Publisher

JOH & Company is a creative company founded in April 2011 by Suyong Joh, former Director of Creative Marketing & Design at NHN. He oversaw and directed the construction of NHN Green Factory, which is the headquarters of NHN, the company that has earned domestic and international reputation as “Google of Korea.” He also created a sensation in the publishing world when he compiled the construction process in a publication, Green Factory. Currently, he leads JOH & Company, a group of creative directors that he has brought together from various fields, and he is conducting complex projects encompassing architectural design, brand consultation, interior, food & beverage service, and product design, based on his own experience. The first fruit of such endeavor is magazine B.

■ About the Issue

Welcome to the 53rd edition of magazine B.
Muji is a lifestyle goods brand that offers every kind of product that might be used in a home, from toothbrushes and bed frames to tables and appliances. The brand is my personal go-to when I need a tool for light use around the house. Its draws are reasonable prices and a style that is “just right” ? free of strong elements of personality and thus unlikely to clash with diverse personal tastes. With other brands emerging whose concepts and styles borrow a lot from Muji, it wouldn’t be surprising if some consumers got them confused.

In the late 1970s, just before Muji was birthed, consumption in Japan was at a peak, and the criteria for measuring a brand’s value were unclear. Large-scale retailers responded by creating self-branded, low-cost lifestyle goods that could be brought to market in a short time. When the Saison Group’s discount retailer Seiyu entered the market in 1980, however, it chose a different approach: a concept that would combine low prices with high quality and a healthy driving ideology.

Seiji Tsutsumi, then head of the Saison Group and its subsidiaries, including Seiyu, consulted with a broad range of experts across different sectors for the development of the Muji brand. Among them was celebrated Japanese graphic designer Ikko Tanaka, who defined the direction the brand would take in succinct terms: “Mujiryushi Rohin,” meaning “high-quality goods with no brand.” Thus, Muji, as Mujiryushi Rohin would be called outside of Japan, was launched, with the slogan “Lower priced for a reason.” The brand’s slogan today is “Muji is enough,” and where it once sold 40-some items, it now offers over 7,000 different products. With the Muji House project, the company has expanded its business to prefab housing.

onsumer interest in Muji centers mainly on the brand’s philosophy and design. The company has defined and promoted its ideology in exceptional ways, so the emergence of a strong, devoted fan base is understandable. But as we discovered while preparing for this edition of magazine B, Muji is more than just a well-told story. The company, for example, relies on a dynamic of solid teamwork. In the 2000s, during a time of financial difficulty brought on by a drop in sales, then-Muji-head Tadamitsu Matsui was quoted as saying that 90 percent of the company was its system ? the way it was run. Matsui also famously equipped company personnel with a manual that outlined, among other things, how local stores were to be managed and how employees were to conduct themselves. Managed by a five-person advisory board that includes Japan’s leading creatives, the company also sets itself apart through its brand strategy and creative control. The current chairman, Masaaki Kanai, has played a decisive role in ensuring that the opinions of the outside advisory board are incorporated into the key message of Muji and that employees are sufficiently inspired to subscribe to this message and “sell” it as part and parcel of the company’s business.

Of course, an extremely well-developed brand concept and pitch-perfect presentation are also important. But it’s much more important ? and not to mention more difficult ? to motivate people to make such ideas a reality, all while maintaining consistency across the board. No company or organization can last without people who understand its core ideas and put them into action. Brands, I want to stress, do not come to life without a deep attachment and steadfast interest. Nice-sounding words might, for a moment, win over great crowds, but when a company’s actions contradict its words, the consumer eventually finds out. The real value of the Muji brand, then, is its people, who faithfully embody the alignment of words with actions.

Let’s ponder the words of Chairman Masaaki Kanai: “We should all live more thoughtfully.” In learning how such a task might be undertaken, we might benefit from more thoughtfully considering what makes a brand ? and a life ? truly good.

Taehyuk Choi, Editor-in-Chief

02 Intro

12 Editor’s Letter

16 Store
Images of Muji shoppers and comments on Muji from the media

22 Opinion
A multifaceted take on the Muji brand from Professor Ken Kusunoki

26 Inner Space
Muji’s approach to consumption as defined 124 by its lineup of over 7,000 items

46 Partners
Past project collaborators remember and 126 reflect
on their experiences working with Muji

54 Opinion
A comprehensive look at Muji houses from designer Kenya Hara,
a member of the Muji advisory board

60 Muji House
The Muji House, a modern living option that draws to mind a catch-all
for holding odds and ends

74 Opinion
Identifying and understanding Muji style with Yu Yamada, director of creative
agency Method

78 Muji Style
City dwellers whose conceptions of style align with the ideas of Muji

94 Mujirer
Glimpses of Muji products as they are actually used

98 Found Muji
Found Muji, a project devoted to finding and recognizing “Mujiness”

102 B’s Cut
Observing what makes Muji products distinct

112 Brand Story
The story behind the birth and growth of Muji

122 100 Good Things
Examples of how Muji has given back to the community and supported the environment

124 HQ
Muji headquarters in Japan, where the brand philosophy is a part of life

126 Advisory Board
Muji’s key consultative body of five outside creative directors

134 Communication
The history of Muji as seen through its simple print advertisements

140 Abroad
Exploring Muji’s overseas sales strategy and experiences with Director of East Asia Business, Satoshi Shimizu

144 Masaaki Kanai
An interview with Masaaki Kanai, chairman of Ryohin Keikaku

148 Figures
Muji by the numbers

150 Outro?