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Uniqlo now sells flowers in Tokyo, but are they on brand with quality for price?

Oona McGee Aug 16, 2020
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We ask a professional florist to rate the cost of these fashionable blooms.

Retail chain Uniqlo has made a name for itself throughout Japan and across the world as a leading manufacturer of affordable casual fashion. You might know them from their new summertime face masks and limited-edition collaborative collections that have people queuing up outside stores, but one special branch in Tokyo is not like the others as it has a little-known secret in store.

▼ Here in Harajuku, this Uniqlo sells fresh flowers.

Not many people know about the floral offerings to be found at this Uniqlo location, and even we were surprised to see the sign saying “Welcome Uniqlo Flower” outside the store. However, a corner of this basement-level Uniqlo, which opened in June, is dedicated to selling a variety of blooms, and when we were there we picked up three bunches for 990 yen (US$9.28) plus tax.

▼ Flower haul: Sunflowers, Solidago, and Sanderiana.

Customers who don’t want to buy their flowers in quantities of three can purchase them as separate bunches for 390 yen each, plus tax. That seemed like a pretty standard price to us, but this being Uniqlo, which prides itself on providing quality goods at reasonable prices, we decided to ask a contact of ours who works as a professional florist, to get her take on the flowers at Uniqlo.

This is what she had to say:

“It’s 390 yen per bunch plus tax, isn’t it? Well, it’s pretty reasonable. You’ve got two kinds of sunflowers here, and the cost price for each one is about 40 yen, so the price for three sunflowers comes to 120 yen. A florist would generally sell these for at least twice the purchase price, which would be 240 yen.

The cost price for Solidago and Sanderiana isn’t as dear so it would be reasonable to sell them for around 200 yen. I feel that 390 yen is high for each of these. However, allowing customers to freely pick three bunches for 990 yen makes it work out to be a pretty standard price in the end. I think it’s on par with the flowers sold at supermarkets and home improvement stores.

The one thing that sets them apart is how fresh they are. These are much fresher than the ones you’d see at supermarkets and home improvement stores, so they’re likely to last longer. In that sense, the quality you get for the price is good.”

Well there you have it – our florist who’s been in business for years and goes to market every day has given the Uniqlo flowers her tick of approval.

The flowers certainly looked super fresh on the day we purchased them, and they did last considerably longer than the ones we usually buy at the supermarket.

While we’re not sure if the Uniqlo branch at Harajuku is selling the blooms as a trial run for a much wider rollout of flowers at stores around the country, we reckon it might be worth their while to make Uniqlo florists a nationwide thing.

After all, matching your outfit to this season’s blossoms might be the next big thing in fashion, and it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for the retail brand, seeing as they already have outfits to match your favourite music and video games.

Store Information
Uniqlo Harajuku / ユニクロ原宿店
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku Jingumae 1-14-30 With Harajuku, Ground Floor and Basement 1 level
東京都渋谷区神宮前1-14-30 WITH HARAJUKU 1階・地下1階
Hours: 11:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Website

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