Is this still the MUJI I know?
Just today (July 4th) at 0:00 am, MUJI officially started pre-sale of the newly launched electric bicycles in its own WeChat applet “MUJI Travel”.
To say that this year, it is not uncommon to play with new energy.
But this is MUJI who has always felt “time is quiet”!
A static, a movement, what kind of sparks will collide? Come! Let’s take a good look-
A very MUJI electric car
“Ta MUJI finished!”
This may be the first reaction of many people when they see MS01.
Adhering to the long-standing pursuit of essence and originality, MUJI has given three key words of “simple, natural, and just right” to electric vehicles, returning to the origin, discarding superfluous decorations, and only keeping what is really needed.
On the outside, everything is simple.
There is no individual color matching, no so-called fashion or retro decoration, and even the headlights are not embellished, only the most classic black and white colors are reserved.
Simple to the extreme.
In terms of performance, it should have everything.
This time, MUJI did not pick up a wrench and a screwdriver by himself to make a car, and study the performance of each module one by one.
They found a joint venture with New Continent Honda, which owns Honda’s investment and specializes in the development of motorcycles/electric bicycles. New Continent Honda is responsible for R&D and manufacturing.
Security, it has:
Adjust according to the standard of motorcycles, so that you can drive more stably and more at ease.
The 17-inch large wheel tubeless tires don’t have to be a headache when encountering all kinds of roads.
Speed and range, it has:
400W motor, the maximum speed reaches 25km/h.
The 48V/20Ah ternary lithium battery, with EBS energy recovery system, has a theoretical endurance of 65km.
As a daily travel function, charging 1-2 times a week is basically enough. certainly! It is basically enough in theory!
Comfort, it has:
The frame is built with an ergonomic three-point sitting position, and a motorcycle-level high-density and high-resilience sponge cushion is used, which is known to be not easy to crack and water seepage.
Keyless unlocking, it has it too!
Of course, there are also various standard VA instrument panels, aluminum alloy handlebars, LED front and rear headlights… I will not elaborate on them one by one.
In terms of price, it is also very MUJI – the two colors are priced at ¥4980.
If you participate in the pre-sale now, you will also have the opportunity to receive a waterproof backpack priced at ¥598 and a cycling helmet priced at ¥208 according to the order of the order.
Speaking of making a car, MUJI is really not the first time.
Before that, MUJI had launched the all-weather self-driving bus Gacha with Sensible 4, a Finnish self-driving technology research and development company, to meet the travel problems of suburban residents.
Last year, MUJI also collaborated with Gogoro, an electric vehicle brand in Taiwan Province, to launch the “Gogoro VIVA Plus Muji” electric vehicle.
However, in contrast, the Gogoro VIVA Plus MUJI is more like MUJI putting its own classic “MUJI” on the electric car. It does not add too many brand features to the concept and design of the whole vehicle.
In terms of deep participation, it is still the MS01 this time.
Crossovers are nothing new
If you pay attention to the trend of the MUJI brand, you will find that MUJI in recent years is an “old crossover player”.
The most impressive one should be the new masks launched by MUJI following Japan declared a state of emergency in 2020.
The mask is made of three layers of pure cotton, and the outer layer is treated with antibacterial and deodorizing technology, which can be directly washed and reused 30 times. Although the effect of epidemic prevention is debatable, it does not affect the popularity of it being sold out in Japan as soon as it is put on the shelves.
Considering that everyone wears a mask for a long time, there will be troubles such as odor and stuffiness, and in 2021, a matching aromatherapy essential oil mask sticker will be launched.
You can apply the aromatherapy to it with a cotton swab, so that everyone can enjoy the fragrance even when wearing a mask.
If these two belong to daily necessities and are not cross-border, let us move forward a little more.
MUJI HOME
MUJI helps you build a house
This is a planning service that was launched in 2017, designed by the MUJI team, built with MUJI furniture, and let MUJI build a house for you.
There are 4 styles to choose from: Wooden Home, Window Home, Yang Home, and Vertical Home (Wood Home, Luno Home, Yang Home, Luno Home).
Wooden House, as the name suggests, uses as much wood as possible, reduces partition walls, and uses furniture as partitions. The whole house feels very natural and transparent.
Window House, arranges the role of “windows” in every corner to open up the connection between the interior and the outside world to a greater extent, and enjoy the natural air and light on the premise of protecting privacy.
The House of Yang is a house where people can enjoy the sunshine to the fullest. From the large floor-to-ceiling windows, the outdoor garden extends out, which is a place of relaxation and freedom.
The Longitudinal Home is special, specially designed for plots with less floor area. Make full use of the vertical space to extend upward, and use stairs and layers to separate 6 spaces, which are compact and practical.
Of course, if you don’t have a piece of land on hand, or you don’t need the luxury of using the entire house, MUJI also offers other options:
MUJIxUR & MUJI INFILL 0
MUJI to be a dream makeover
Both projects are a series of old house renovation projects carried out by MUJI, observing that there are many old communities in Japan, and the old design and decoration have been unable to meet the pursuit of contemporary young people’s living environment.
The difference is that MUJIxUR was launched by MUJI and the Japanese real estate operating company UR, while MUJI INFILL 0 is the whole process of MUJI, which has also passed strict earthquake resistance tests, hot and cold temperature measurement and monitoring.
The former is used for rental, and the latter is sold in hardcover with furniture, which can be said to be rich and frugal.
MUJI Hotel
One-stop experience of eating, drinking, buying and living
It’s not enough to sell houses and decorate. In 2018, MUJI found that “travel” was no longer a luxury requirement, but gradually became a part of everyone’s daily life, and then opened hotels in Shenzhen, Beijing, and Tokyo.
Said to be a hotel, it is actually more like a large-scale lifestyle complex in MUJI.
From MUJI’s physical store, to Café&Mea MUJI, MUJI BOOKS everything, every piece of furniture and utensils in the Alex Reed room are all MUJI products.
Immersive experience, following using it, go downstairs to buy it directly, this sales path is a bit absolute!
MUJI Market
Probably the most artistic vegetable market
Also in 2018, following seeing the popularity of the high-end fresh food market, MUJI built its own vegetable market, MUJI Marché.
On the familiar shelves, meat, vegetables and fish have replaced daily necessities and stationery, which not only retains the consistent style of MUJI, but also perfectly integrates into the life atmosphere of the vegetable market, which is gentle and fresh.
The quality of the ingredients is the main focus. The shrimp, crab, and fish are all salvaged and delivered on the same day. The meat also includes Miyazaki Kuroge Wagyu beef and Okinawan native pigs.
What’s more, it can also be made to order and eaten!
If you want to take it home and make it, there are also shop assistants who will teach you how to cook, even if you are a cook!
Sato’s MUJI Minami no Sato
MUJI version of Ranch Story
In order to shorten the distance between the city and the natural life, just having a vegetable market MUJI is not enough, so a MUJI farm called “里のMUJI みんなみの里” was established.
Farms not only respect their own crops, but also their own food products.
It also directly pulls you into the fields to experience all kinds of farm work, grow rice with your family, pick mature crops in the greenhouse, and use them to make delicious dishes… Feel the freshest and most unique seasonal flavors.
MUJI, the old crossover player!
MUJI has changed, but not completely
Going back to the question at the beginning of the article, is MUJI who opened a restaurant, a hotel, a house, a farm, or the MUJI I know?
Yes.
The reason why “MUJI MUJI” has this brand name comes from an idea put forward by the founder Tetsuji: to be a brand without a brand.
Simply put, it is to abandon any packaging and means, return to the product itself, and simplify the complex for the needs of users.
This is also fully reflected in the just-launched electric vehicle MS01 promotional video:
But the question comes once more: stick to the original intention, develop a new direction, and have the characteristics of an excellent brand, why do you continue to see news such as MUJI’s “decline in performance” and “store closure”?
In my opinion, this is a problem caused by “cost-effectiveness”.
Take a gel pen that everyone has as an example. Its price on MUJI Japan’s official website is 90 yen (including consumption tax), which is not much different from other local brands of gel pens, and may even be cheaper.
But the same gel pen came to China’s official website, and the price was ¥7.
Not to mention how long ago the exchange rate of the yen reached 100:7, we just walked into a stationery store, and there are many choices of gel pens below ¥5. Even imported brands such as Sakura, Mitsubishi, and Baile, which have won stationery awards many times, can be purchased at a price of around ¥7.
It was prohibitive.
The same “cost-effectiveness” problem can be reflected in MUJI’s various products, including the electric vehicles released this time.
Although MUJI has undergone many price adjustments, Plaything Jun suggested: it should be closer to the market. After all – who doesn’t want to buy something more cost-effective?
