Can a no-brand retail store muscle into the brand hotel space?

WHEN flint-eyed Clint Eastwood strode out in Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns as the “Man with No Name”, audiences were spellbound. The less he said, the more his fans grew. In 2020, Empire magazine voted the “laconic anti-hero” of the Fistful of Dollars trilogy as the 33rd greatest movie character of all time. Quite a plaudit for an unnamed lead.

Do brands and names matter? Is Muji the no-brand Japanese store less desirable than some Italian designer label that would have you think twice about ruffling the linen? Making its point, the Japanese retailer has moved into the hotel business with its trademark low-key approach. Muji Hotel, which operates in Shenzhen, Beijing and Tokyo, launched in the heart of the Ginza in April 2019 atop its flagship Yurakucho store.

As with its retail, Muji has picked choice hotel locations downtown for young city professionals who form its loyal base. Stretch space and linen thread count apart, for many, the clean woody monochrome interiors at the Muji Hotel Shenzhen or Beijing may seem no different to say an EDITION or a designer property that favours a similar unadorned, less-is-more look.