Muji's zesty Zen

THE first time I stepped into Muji was in 2003, when the Japanese store opened in Junction 8 as part of Seiyu department store. I walked right out after a cursory scoping of the merchandise on display. No-frills is not for me, I had decided right there and then. "No name brand"? Bah, humbug. Give me Michael Kors' overpriced, overwrought paraphernalia any time.

But slowly, over the years - and largely because journalists just can't keep their mouths shut when it comes to well-designed stuff - I grew to love its purity of lines, shorn of embellishments and spartan, almost abstemious product design.

Muji started life in Japan in December 1980 as "Mujirushi Ryohin Aoyama" - which is Japanese for "no-brand quality goods". At first, it was an in-store label for the The Seiyu, Ltd, designed for savvy, cost-conscious Japanese shoppers who gravitated towards its credo of "lower prices for a reason".