Why are there no luxury Asian brands?

[zzm9980]

They're budget/cheap in the US, but are marketed as upscale here.

Funny how that works isn't it. Like Replay in Italy. Talking about old US lables how about Guess lol...

Guess is still mid- to upscale in the US. At least, based on the prices they charge and the malls they keep their shops in.

[zzm9980]

I have the same impression with Cotton On and Uniqlo except that instead of being budget, they're mid-scale in their countries of origin and not 'upscale' like they are here.

Uniqlo... when they launched in London the whole sizzle was how cheap they are.

Yeah, I always thought of them as a Japanese H&M.

[JR8]

Guess is still mid- to upscale in the US. At least, based on the prices they charge and the malls they keep their shops in.

OMG you're kidding me!

Maybe I was thrown by their 'Make your pre-teen look like a $10 street-ho' look

[Brah]

For Uniqulo that is the point, they are the Japanese Gap, and they came at a time when Japan needed something cheap away from their usually high prices - they're more anti-fashion that of course became fashionable.

It's "Walmart" for you Brits. Half of Sam Walton's name.

Muji is not an equivalent for Walmart, it's more a no-frills, quasi-natural intentionally plain look materials and clothing store. Cheap in Japan, 3 times the price here. They're probably closer to IKEA than Walmart, but more in the aesthetic sense. They've been around forever.

Whereas Walmart is a super discounter and carriers just about everything.

And for A&F? What a joke. They are so unhip in the States now my teenage nieces and nephews refuse to wear that brand. But here they are in Singapore posing like they are as fashionable like they were 10 year ago. Overpriced and overhyped.

But for some strange reason people still insist on buying clothing with faux sports text on them with nonsensical information.

However, the old A&F was a stodgy upscale clothing maker.

As a young buck on Wall Street my friend who knew better than me took me to their Wall Street store for the most expensive pinpoint Oxford shirts I'd ever owned up to that point, where I was just out of school, paying off school loans and having expenses like I never had up to that point, the A&F shirts were a real luxury.

It was an even nicer store than the downtown Brooks Brothers, who at the time was one of the pinnacle high-end shops. Both had season tailors assisting you every step of the way.

Uniqlo... when they launched in London the whole sizzle was how cheap they are.

Talking about Japanese how about Muji? (Maybe not in SG, but many Brits will have heard of them). That started as the in-house 'no name' brand in the Japanese supermarket equivalent of Asda (for Yanks read Wallmart), suddenly it goes abroad and becomes a brand.

[JR8]

Didn't say Muji is like Walmart.

I said 'That started as the in-house 'no name' brand in the Japanese supermarket equivalent of Asda (for Yanks read Wallmart), suddenly it goes abroad and becomes a brand.'

Wikipedia says the Japanese supermarket chain is Seiyu, it also reminds me that Muji is a truncation of the Japanese word for 'no name'.