History
Mujirushi (no-brand) Ryōhin (quality goods) began as a product brand of the supermarket chain The Seiyu, Ltd. in December 1980. The Mujirushi Ryōhin product range was developed to offer affordable quality products and were marketed using the slogan "Lower priced for a reason." Products were wrapped in clear cellophane, plain brown paper labels and red writing. Mujirushi Ryōhin's drive to cut retail prices for consumers saw the company cutting waste by, for example, selling U-shaped spaghetti, the left-over part that is cut off to sell straight spaghetti.[7][8]
In 1981, Seiji Tsutsumi, the president of the Seiyu Ryutsu group proposed opening a dedicated shop for Mujirushi Ryōhin products. Although the idea was rejected by the directors of Seiyu, the advisory board of the company supported the idea, proposing the idea of a shop positioned against mass production. The company began to develop products that would allow the shop to expand from a supermarket product range to an independent product company. Such products included food, clothing, stationery, and household goods.[9]
In 1983, the first directly operated Mujirushi Ryōhin store opened in Aoyama, Tokyo. In 1985, Mujirushi Ryōhin started overseas production and procurement, started to place direct factory orders in 1986, and in 1987 Muji started to develop materials globally. And it was a real success.
In 1989, Ryohin Keikaku Ltd became the manufacturer and retailer for all Mujirushi Ryōhin products and operations, including planning, development, production, distribution and sale.
In 1991, Mujirushi Ryōhin opened its first international store in London.[10]
In 1995, shares in "Muji Tsunan Campsite" were registered as over-the-counter shares of Japan Securities Dealers Association. In 1998, Ryōhin Keikaku listed on the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. From 2001 onwards, it was listed on the first section.[11][12] In April 2001 they issued the Muji Car 1000 (ムジ・カー 1000), a limited release of 1,000 badgeless and decontented Nissan Marches, only available online. Intended as an exercise to test their online marketing systems it was developed together with Nissan. The spartanly equipped little car (with the rear seat upholstered in vinyl, for instance) was only offered in "marble white".[13]
The brand name "Muji" appears to have been used since around 1999.[12]
In 2011, the first Muji store in Aoyama was redeveloped as a concept store with products from around the world.[14]
In 2020 and 2021, Muji faced scrutiny over the use of cotton produced under conditions of forced labor in Xinjiang.[15][16] Muji subsequently stopped labelling goods as "Xinjiang cotton" in certain markets, such as Hong Kong. In December 2021, it was reported that the same Muji garments labelled simply as "organic cotton" in the Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and Japanese markets were still being sold by Muji under the "Xinjiang cotton" banner in China.[17]
