The most beloved brand in Scandinavia
Nikolina Johnston, the force behind UNIQLO’s first store in Stockholm, was once a right winger on the soccer field.
THE POWER OF
CLOTHING
No.25, October 2023
What can I do to help Sweden nurture and embrace UNIQLO?
In 2018, UNIQLO opened its first store in Stockholm. The idea of opening in Sweden was proposed at a company-wide convention by Nikolina Johnston, today the Chief Operating Officer for UNIQLO Scandinavia. In her view, UNIQLO was ready to become the most beloved clothing brand in Scandinavia, thanks to its customer-focused outlook and transparency about environmental efforts.
Portrait photographs by Thomas Degner
The Kungsträdgården store is located in a renovated building erected over half a century ago.
My grandfather was born in Finland, but once he started working at the UN, he spent a large part of his life in New York. His daughter, my mother, married an American. I myself was born and raised in Sweden.A big part of my cultural heritage is Nordic, but the American influence is very strong, and my experience managing the Global Flagship store in Paris exposed me to a wide array of people and cultures. Coming into contact with all kinds of different ideas has such a valuable impact on your life and work. It can lead to these amazing moments when you realise what you thought was common sense was no more than an assumption.
Opening the first UNIQLO store in Sweden
My grandfather was born in Finland, but once he started working at the UN, he spent a large part of his life in New York. His daughter, my mother, married an American. I myself was born and raised in Sweden.
A big part of my cultural heritage is Nordic, but the American influence is very strong, and my experience managing the Global Flagship store in Paris exposed me to a wide array of people and cultures. Coming into contact with all kinds of different ideas has such a valuable impact on your life and work. It can lead to these amazing moments when you realise what you thought was common sense was no more than an assumption.
Opening the first UNIQLO store in Sweden
I proposed that we open a store in Sweden because I was certain that UNIQLO’s clothing has what Swedish people want. It’s a matter of course in Sweden to consider the materials and examine the tag inside an item before you make a purchase. High quality is a requirement. I knew that we could successfully convey UNIQLO’s message and philosophy of LifeWear.
Located beside Stockholm’s King’s Garden, the store is housed in a renovated structure designed in 1969 by Sven Markelius, an urban planner who was one of the preeminent architects of Swedish modernism. Markelius was also on the board of design consultants for the United Nations Secretariat Building in New York, alongside Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer. His functionalist interior designs have a modern universality that resonates with the essence of LifeWear.
At a gathering the day before opening, I got to celebrate with my mother and siblings. My mother was so overjoyed that I was back in Sweden, and apparently overwhelmed by the beauty of the interiors, too, because she went right up to Mr. Yanai and gave him a hug. She must have caught him off-guard, but he didn’t skip a beat and said to her, “Let’s take a photo together!” Now my grandfather has the photo they took as the background for his phone.
Not long after opening, something totally unexpected happened. Sweden has cold winters, so I was sure that HEATTECH would be flying off the shelves. In fact, it didn’t. It’s commonplace in Sweden for homes, big buildings, and transportation to be thoroughly heated, so people don’t necessarily rely on insulated innerwear. The one exception being HEATTECH leggings that can be worn out and about. After a surprise like this, it’s time to start thinking about what to do next. Failure is a great motivator.
A new way of prioritising customers
A year after the Kungsträdgården store opened, UNIQLO launched a partnership with the Swedish Olympic and Paralympic teams. In order to perfect the aesthetic and functionality of their uniforms, we met with athletes for multiple fittings.
These designs are then further refined based on customer experiences and specific requests. Next year, Sweden's athletes will once again compete in official UNIQLO uniforms. I'm so excited.
Clothing plays all sorts of different roles. It isn’t just about ease of movement or functionality, it’s about keeping people warm, being part of a community, and self-expression. UNIQLO’s LifeWear speaks to the fundamental goals of clothing. We’re not fixated on chasing fashion trends that only last a year. Rather, we aim for styles that have staying power, clothes you’ll want to wear ten years from now.
At RE.UNIQLO studios, we use a traditional Japanese embroidery technique called sashiko.
With this in mind, a RE.UNIQLO studio will soon open in Sweden, at our store in Stockholm, so customers can have their clothes repaired or beautified by hand, something my grandfather’s generation did at home. It’s the perfect blend of old and new.
The objective of RE.UNIQLO studios is to help customers wear their favourite clothes for as long as possible. We’re focusing on the customer’s needs while also conserving resources and helping them get the most out of their clothes; lightening the load on the environment.
LifeWear: a new industry
How can clothes be made with an eye on the future?
SWIPE
Transparency for peace of mind
Another way we’ve ensured that your favourite clothes last longer is by collecting pre-worn clothing with your generous cooperation. These clothes are sent to refugees all over the world or recycled into new materials. Down jackets, thanks to new technology, can find new life as recycled down jackets. Recirculating clothes or their materials is at the core of LifeWear.
We’re also making moves to reduce CO₂ and water consumption and waste at the factories and stores where we make and sell our clothes. It’s natural to wonder what new technologies this requires and how effectively it’s working. We believe in providing clear, transparent information on these details. Transparency, after all, is how a corporation establishes trust. I think we can expect a steady increase in the number of customers who feel confident in wearing our clothes, because of how clearly we define our approach to the environment.
Creating chances to score
Following in the footsteps of my mother, who was an excellent soccer player during her school years, I was crazy about soccer as a kid. My position was right winger, and I excelled at running up from the right side and making goal assists. Eventually, I was picked as the team leader. Directing and instructing teammates to bring out the best in them came naturally to me. I didn’t make it to the pros, sadly, but that’s okay.
At UNIQLO Sweden, we hold events for kids throughout the country under a program called “UNIQLO Dream Project” in collaboration with the Swedish Olympic and Paralympic committees. The goal is to help kids enjoy sports from an early age. Sweden’s leading athletes join us, too, as special guests. We recognise that economic hardship can prevent some families from accessing sports programs, so we’ve made it easier to participate in sports like ice hockey and skiing that require gear and extra expenses. To date, we’ve had 42,200 kids from about 600 schools take part in the UNIQLO Dream Project.
Environmentally-conscious clothing manufacturing, programs to help you get the most out of your clothes, and opportunities for kids to enjoy sports, all of these things involve working today to build a stronger future. I’m ready to do whatever I can to make UNIQLO the most beloved brand in the Nordic region.
Sports events featuring top athletes as special guests are held all over Sweden.
Nikolina Johnston
Born in Uppsala, Sweden. 2014: Joined company as a UNIQLO Manager Candidate (UMC). 2016: Promoted to manager of the UNIQLO Paris Opéra store. 2020: Named COO of UNIQLO Scandinavia.
Advanced design in harmony with the environment
Nicknamed the “UNIQLO Logo Store” because of the giant logos on the outside, the Maebashi Minami IC store in Gunma Prefecture features a play area for kids, a flower shop, a cafe, and a counter where you can have UNIQLO items repaired or remade. Through a synergistic system of solar panels, air curtains, CO₂ and temperature sensors, skylights, and recycled insulation, we’re striving to reduce power consumption by 55%, compared to our existing roadside UNIQLO stores*.
*Compared to annual energy used by UNIQLO Tomioka, a similar store in layout and floor area, also located in Gunma prefecture.
Illustrations by Yoshifumi Takeda
A captivating space, attuned to the environment
Hatsuko Takagi
Senior Manager, Store Development, Fast Retailing
The UNIQLO Maebashi Minami IC store is also known as the “UNIQLO Logo Store” because of the big red logo blocks on three of the corners. Rather than a space where people shop and then head simply for the exit, we wanted to create a captivating setting where people can enjoy all sorts of activities. Dreaming of the possibilities, we came up with the Logo Store.
In good weather, you can hang out on the big lawn, or chat with friends over a coffee and a local treat inside at the cafe. Kids can go down the slide in the play zone, or flip through picture books, while a flower shop provides another way to feel the seasons. Then there’s the RE.UNIQLO Studio, where customers can have their UNIQLO items repaired or updated by hand.
The environmentally-conscious design cuts way back on the energy needed for lighting and air conditioning, the two biggest power uses for stores. According to calculations made in the design stage, the structure allows for a 55% reduction in power use*. We spent a great deal of time going over details with the Takenaka Corporation, who took charge of design. The resulting building makes use of various new technologies and will serve as a model for the next generation of UNIQLO locations.
It’s clear the young woman managing the store sees environmental consciousness as a natural goal. Her previous assignment was as manager of another store in Gunma Prefecture, so she knows how to please the local community while providing a stimulating experience for visitors. We think you’ll love the store as well. It brims with local colour.
Designing with the functionality of clothes in mind
Ikuya Hanaoka
Lead Architect, Advanced Design Group, Design Department, Tokyo Main Office, Takenaka Corporation
Buildings and clothes are similar, in that they regulate the boundary between inside and out. Just as buildings protect people from wind and rain and extreme temperatures, HEATTECH and AIRism keep people feeling comfortable. Clothes also do a lot of work, responding to the body temperature and perspiration of the person wearing them, all without using energy— this aspect of clothing was always in the back of my mind while designing the Maebashi Minami IC store.
Energy-making and energy-saving
A big theme for this new suburban store in Maebashi was “open to the land.” The site has no shortage of sky. We judged that a good fit would be a building you could easily see into—and a spacious interior providing a clear view of the outside.
Capping off the clear facade is a deep eave, which creates a space much like an engawa, the porch that fringes a traditional Japanese house. It’s a great place to have a coffee or to host an event. Bridging inside and out.
For the sake of the environment, this building is designed to generate and conserve energy. Solar panels on the roof supply about one third of the power used on premises each year. Numerous features help the structure to save energy, too. Designed to let in natural light, it has skylights in the ceiling that reduce power consumption. Since the intensity of light varies with the weather, season, and time of day, a dimming sensor helps to maintain optimal brightness. The people working at the store can feel the light changing from morning and noon into evening, which promotes a natural sense of the passage of time.
The air conditioning is activated by changes in CO₂ and indoor humidity that arise due to increased store traffic. The two customer entrances are equipped with air curtains, which help keep fluctuations in indoor temperature to a minimum, while the insulation in the ceilings and walls contains recycled and shredded UNIQLO clothes.
Form and function
I’m often stunned by the design level and attention to detail in clothes from UNIQLO. This comes from an integration of beauty and functionality. This store’s interior reflects UNIQLO’s tireless pursuit of perfection. We made adjustments at the millimetre level, just to get things right. I invite students of architecture to take a close look at the details. You’re likely to discover something interesting.
The big red logo was created in collaboration with Kashiwa Sato. It has the practical benefit of hiding the earthquake-resistant bracing. These logos aren’t merely decorations, they’re keystones to the structure.
SWIPE
❶ RE.UNIQLO Studio
Stop by the RE.UNIQLO Studio and have your UNIQLO clothes repaired or updated with embroidery or patches. Make the most out of your clothes.
❷ UNIQLO Kids' Box
An area for kids, complete with a slide, cushions, and picture books.
❸ UNIQLO Florist
Flowers, just like clothes, light up your life. We offer a selection of seasonal cut flowers and potted plants. Gift wrapping available.
❹ UNIQLO Café
Choose from a variety of coffees, juices, and locally-baked treats. The tables are a great place to take a break.
A. Air curtains
Conducting tests on automatic doors at existing UNIQLO stores, we’ve found that adding air curtains to entrances helps to control the balance of indoor air pressure and outside air, reducing the inflow of outside air and mitigating the outflow of temperature-controlled air when doors open.
B. Recycled insulation
We’ve developed a recycled insulation that is comprised of 30% shredded UNIQLO clothing. Using these materials in the outer walls and ceiling reduces the amount of energy required for air conditioning.
C. Solar panels
About one third of the store’s annual power consumption is supplied by rooftop solar panels, equivalent to 15% of the power used at existing roadside UNIQLO stores*.
D. Skylights
The central atrium of the store is outfitted with skylights. Making the most of natural light, the windows have an automated dimming function and also help offset a portion of the energy that would be used for light fixtures. Coupled with the five-metre ceilings, they give the store a spacious feel.
E. CO₂ and temperature sensors
Air circulation is regulated in accordance with changes in CO₂ levels and room temperature resulting from store traffic. Thermal energy is removed from the air, optimising the quality and quantity of circulated air, so that thermal energy both in and out of the store is used efficiently.
UNIQLO Maebashi Minami IC Store
Location: 2008 Kamesato-machi, Maebashi-shi, Gunma Prefecture
Operating Hours: 10 am–8 pm, closed on January 1st for New Year’s Day
Stocking womenswear, menswear, kidswear, babywear and maternity collections.
Approximately five minutes' drive from Maebashi Minami IC on the Kita-Kanto Expressway.
Water resources vary across the world. It's crucial to find a sustainable approach.
From cultivating cotton, to dyeing yarn and fabric, to ironing finished products, water is indispensable when making clothes. New technologies are being introduced to ensure sustainable use of water resources. We’re continuing to do our part to help solve unique local water problems that don’t have easy fixes.
Illustrations by Yoshifumi Takeda
Two major tasks for clothing manufacturers are reducing water intake and controlling pollution. UNIQLO works with factories that conduct water use reduction programs and periodic pollution control testing on wastewater. One such facility, profiled below, is a factory in Vietnam run by Chinese corporation Shenzhou International. By way of an introduction, here’s an overview of water problems throughout the world.
The water situation varies widely from one country or region to the next. The same approach cannot be applied universally. Every setting presents unique challenges, which makes it necessary to comprehensively examine a location, paying attention to environmental factors, climate, flood management, the condition of water and sewerage systems, and customs surrounding water. This could involve holding a variety of hearings, identifying individual problems, and working with community members to develop strategies.
Places where drinking water requires filtration
The Mekong Delta region in which Southeast Asia’s longest river, the Mekong, approaches the sea after travelling through six countries has some of the most vulnerable water worldwide. The greatest challenge is salinity intrusion caused by seawater flowing upstream. This has repercussions on agriculture and even drinking water.
Investigating the causes of salinisation by conducting water assessments in the vicinity of factories, we identified overlapping factors including climate change, rising sea levels, and ground subsidence. These all require a great deal of time to decisively address, which means a quick fix won’t be easy.
Conferring with local NGOs focused on water problems, UNIQLO has pinpointed areas where ensuring drinking water will prove difficult in periods of extreme salinisation, and so has arranged for the installation of drinking water filtration systems at a total of ten daycare centres, kindergartens, and elementary schools. In emergencies, these systems can be opened to the surrounding community.
Water issues are local issues
The water challenges affecting regions all over the world are highly influenced by global climate change. Domestic water conservation makes a difference, but it’s unfortunately not enough to solve all the world’s water problems. It’s important for big solutions to be tailored to each region, taking into account the specific circumstances of the area, and developing and supporting practical strategies in cooperation with the community.
As UNIQLO continues to develop programs for reducing water use and curbing pollution at its partner factories, it is striving to find appropriate solutions for the unique problems faced by regions experiencing severe water issues.
In order to protect drinking water in Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta from salinisation, we’re partnering with communities to install filtration systems at schools.
Thanks to new technology, the factory aims to derive 30% of its water from recycled sources.
Ho Kai
Head of Sustainability, Shenzhou International
In college and grad school, I specialised in architecture and environmental studies. I was especially drawn to water resource management and environmental conservation. Like water, all resources on earth are finite. To use these resources with minimum impact requires up-to-date research and innovation.
Which is exactly what I do now at the clothing manufacturer Shenzhou International. The factories where dyes and fabric are produced and clothes are sewn use energy and water. To steadily reduce the amount of water used, we’re utilising an advanced system in which wastewater is treated to have negligible impact on the environment, and treated water is reused. Every year, we reach for higher goals.
Changing the tasks where the most water is used
A good factory site must meet several criteria, but a big one is proximity to water. Gain Lucky, a Shenzhou International factory in Vietnam, draws water from the dammed reservoir supplying Ho Chi Minh City. Dam water is purified to the same level as tap water before being used in the factory.
The step using the most water is the dyeing of yarn and fabric, which accounts for about 85% of water use. Ironing machines use about 10%, while the last about 5% is used by personnel in cafeterias, restrooms, and for fire safety. Finding ways to reduce water usage levels—that’s my job.
Targeting 30% recycled water at the factory
Water used in dyeing is treated as waste. All wastewater is subject to treatment in-house. There are three main treatment steps: physical treatment by sedimentation and filtration, chemical treatment that neutralises the water using chemical agents, and biological treatment using microbes. These steps purify the water to Level A, comparable to a clear stream supporting fish life, which allows it to be safely discharged.
If wastewater can be reused, the water intake of a factory can be reduced. Using an advanced reverse osmosis (RO) system (see below), water that would have otherwise been discharged can be purified to drinking-water levels and used again.
This is the same filtration technology used by NASA on the space shuttles to ensure astronauts always have access to clean drinking water.
Currently, 85–90% of this purified wastewater is discharged. However, by increasing the amount of water we process using RO systems, we can use more of this water to achieve our target, where 30% of water used by the factory is from recycled sources.
A factory should be welcomed as a part of the community. This means minimising environmental impact and adapting alongside local residents. My greatest joy is creating systems that help to make this happen.
The reservoir
Processing wastewater at Shenzhou International’s Vietnam factory
Dyeing fabric and yarn requires water. That’s why factories are built near water sources. This Vietnam factory pipes in water from a dammed reservoir. About 85% of factory water is used for dyeing. Wastewater produced in dyeing is purified through various means and only discharged after satisfying water quality criteria— some even up to a drinkable level. Much of this purified wastewater is then reused in factory processes.
Illustrations by Yoshifumi Takeda
From the reservoir
1
Tanks
Water drawn from the reservoir is cleaned of foreign matter by percolating through tanks packed with fine sand. It is then passed through a high-speed filtration apparatus and into pipes.
2
Dyeing steps
About 85% of water is used for dyeing, while about 10% is used by irons and other machines. About 5% is used by personnel and fire safety equipment.
3
Sand filtration system
Wastewater produced by dyeing is filtered using a sand filtration system, in which impurities are trapped between dense quartzose sand grains as small as about 1 mm in diameter.
❶In
❷Out
❸Filter pipe
❹Quartzose grains
❺Crushed stone
4
UF System
Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes comprise flat membranes, tubular membranes, and hollow fibre membranes. When water under pressure is passed through, ultrafine particles such as proteins, viruses, and bacteria can be eliminated.
❶Concentrate
❷Filtered water
❸Hollow-fibre membranes (25,000 strands)
❹Feed
5
Filtration
85–95% of water used in the factory is filtered before being discharged. The remainder is further filtered through a RO filtration system.
Effluent
6
RO System
Once water molecules have made it through the manifold layers of the cylindrical RO membrane, eliminating all impurities, filtration is complete.
❶Central tube
❷Brine seal
❸Feed
❹Feed
❺Feed
❻Permeate water carrier
❼Feed channel spacer
❽Concentrate
❾Permeate
Reuse
7
Drinkability
RO systems were used by NASA on the Space Shuttle, to ensure astronauts always have access to clean drinking water.
Processing wastewater at Shenzhou International’s Vietnam factory
Dyeing fabric and yarn requires water. That’s why factories are built near water sources. This Vietnam factory pipes in water from a dammed reservoir. About 85% of factory water is used for dyeing. Wastewater produced in dyeing is purified through various means and only discharged after satisfying water quality criteria— some even up to a drinkable level. Much of this purified wastewater is then reused in factory processes.
Illustrations by Yoshifumi Takeda
From the reservoir
1
Tanks
Water drawn from the reservoir is cleaned of foreign matter by percolating through tanks packed with fine sand. It is then passed through a high-speed filtration apparatus and into pipes.
2
Dyeing steps
About 85% of water is used for dyeing, while about 10% is used by irons and other machines. About 5% is used by personnel and fire safety equipment.
Reuse
3
Sand filtration system
Wastewater produced by dyeing is filtered using a sand filtration system, in which impurities are trapped between dense quartzose sand grains as small as about 1 mm in diameter.
❶In
❷Out
❸Filter pipe
❹Quartzose grains
❺Crushed stone
4
UF System
Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes comprise flat membranes, tubular membranes, and hollow fibre membranes. When water under pressure is passed through, ultrafine particles such as proteins, viruses, and bacteria can be eliminated.
❶Concentrate
❷Filtered water
❸Hollow-fibre membranes (25,000 strands)
❹Feed
5
Filtration
85–95% of water used in the factory is filtered before being discharged. The remainder is further filtered through a RO filtration system.
6
RO System
Once water molecules have made it through the manifold layers of the cylindrical RO membrane, eliminating all impurities, filtration is complete.
❶Central tube
❷Brine seal
❸Feed
❹Feed
❺Feed
❻Permeate water carrier
❼Feed channel spacer
❽Concentrate
❾Permeate
7
Drinkability
RO systems were used by NASA on the Space Shuttle, to ensure astronauts always have access to clean drinking water.
Effluent
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Far from home
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