The Impact of the Collaboration between UNIQLO and Popular Japanese Anime/Manga Series for its UT Collection Towards Brand Loyalty in Indonesia Charlene Dwiputri (a*), Fitri Aprilianty (a)
a) School of Business and Management, Bandung Institute of Technology
Jalan Ganesa No. 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
*charlene_dwiputri[at]sbm-itb.ac.id
Abstract
With time, fast fashion brands are induced to keep innovating new brand experiences to stay competitive in the market. UNIQLO is one of the four major players in the worldwide fast fashion industry. However, UNIQLO is still inferior to its two major competitors. In 2013, UNIQLO started to provide new brand experiences--its main competitors do not have--through its self-expression graphic print collections, the UT Series. Focusing on Generation Z with the characteristics of disloyalty to brands and in pursuit of freedom of expression, this research aims to identify the perceived brand experience from UT Series which specifically collaborated with Japanese anime/manga and its effectiveness in affecting UNIQLO brand loyalty. This research is conducted using qualitative and quantitative approaches through semi-structured interviews and an online survey with UNIQLO Generation Z customers who have purchased UT Series product that collaborates with Japanese anime/manga at least once in the past 1 year. The interview results are analyzed using the open coding method and the survey results are analyzed using the PLS-SEM method. The results show that the brand experience of UT Series which collaborates with Japanese anime/manga positively influences UNIQLO brand loyalty. The findings will give insight into the effectiveness of brand experiences to brand loyalty which gives the competitive advantage in the market.
Keywords: Brand Experience- Brand Loyalty- Fast Fashion- Generation Z
