There is a close relationship between minimalism and art. Over recent years, fashion bloggers have shown a persistent interest in minimalist lifestyle. The monotony of trends is the best reason to explain this behavior. Adopting a lifestyle that is assumed to be a satisfactory one calls for shifting from a consumerism lifestyle to a more preferable consumption. Minimalism was introduced in the year 1960. It has greatly impacted our lives ever since. The perception of the modern day minimalism will have a major impact on the business models of tomorrow. Minimalism involves a complete transformation of one's view of life and life itself. Japan, being the major inspiration for Canada is home for some of the most developed brands in the world (Woo et al, 2014).
Over the past few years, Toronto has been one of the most ranked cities in the world. Its labor attractiveness has seen the region attract nearly 100,000 new settlers. Toronto is home to many global businesses. Although its economic performance has not been so good, Toronto shows the great potential of doing better in the near future. It has been open for the introduction of new brands from continents like Asia. The introduction of Asian brands like Muji, Uniqlo, and Miniso has brought a fierce competition for Canadian retailers. Uniqlo retail's priority is to train its employees. This explains why Tadashi Yanai, the owner of Uniqlo is Japan's second richest man.
The Asian brands opened their stores in Metro Vancouver with a plan of spreading to the best parts of Canada. The slow decline of Canadian domestic retailers has been a long-term plan by brands from outside countries. The plan commenced its execution last year when the Japanese brand Muji launched a large store in Toronto. However, several retailers including Uniqlo have found their way into the Canadian retail (Hiam, 2017).
However their prices may differ, their products present a great quality and style. It possesses a unique customer service aimed to improve their customer service. For these reasons, a uniform type of service is offered in all departments of Uniqlo. It owns two stores in Toronto and plans to introduce 100 more in the coming years. Uniqlo, unlike other mega brands, believes in having products that fit everyone's pocket.
The idea of satisfying everyone's needs has been a challenge for Canada for the last decades. Miniso, a great competitor of Uniqlo is expecting to open 500 stores in the whole of Canada. According to Craig Patterson, editor-in-chief of RetailInsider.com, Miniso's products are unique and affordable. Owing to this reason, it possesses a great potential to succeed in Canada. The reason behind its success is the hard-working customer care team. All of the employees are trained to executive leadership positions and this improved their performance remarkably.
With their current store's count of 2000 worldwide, the Japanese brands are more focused on expanding their territories to vast geographical areas. Its operations are driven by their aim of reducing their costs while producing high-quality products. Toronto has recently seen an increase in athleisure resulting in a merge in casual and official wear. Basic products have therefore been introduced in both local brands and high-quality designers.
Promoting Toronto's performance is a great move to raise the living standards of its residents. Being Canada's major business center, Toronto is in a great position to fuel the country's growth and prosperity. Alongside other assets like unique services, an airport and existence of several firms, the population of Toronto are well educated. Merging with some of Asia's mega brands has been a major move towards the transition of Toronto into a global city. Looking for investment opportunities in Toronto helps push forward the economy of the city and country as well.
This will minimize and ultimately curb the stagnation of economic growth, therefore, triggering productivity. The Japanese minimalism has a major impact on the Canadian lifestyle. It brings out the idea of making life simpler while minimizing possessions. According to this philosophy, happiness becomes a priority in one's life. It is easier to focus on simpler chores than going for bigger ones which yield no satisfaction. The Japanese minimalists believe that possessing less gives an opportunity to acquire more.
More emphasis is put on looking simple rather than putting on expensive high-design clothing. Wearing basic clothing brings out the personality of the person unlike assertive clothes that draw away the focus of viewers from the person and direct them to the clothes. It is a Japanese culture to stand out without attracting too much attention. The interaction of the Japanese minimalists and Canada's retail firms will have a major impact on the culture of the Canadians.
This is because the type of lifestyle acts in the favor of people from all walks of life. On its way to promoting Canada's economic growth, the Japanese culture will greatly change the lifestyle of the people of Toronto and Canada at large. According to the director of Miniso, the brand is looking to invest in major business ventures that provide a wide range of customers in its journey to expand the economy and lifestyle of the people of Canada. Miniso offers a wide range of products that are marketable in Toronto (Hiam, 2017)
Miniso produces good quality goods for a price cheaper than that of Canada's home-made products. The existence of low priced trendy items poses a great threat to the economy of Canada. The presence of three Japanese brands in Canada will deteriorate the country's economy. More competition will result in production at a cheaper cost making their products affordable to the people of Canada. Despite its ceremonial reception by the people of Toronto, This move will greatly affect the dollar store industry. The Asian brands have shown tremendous growth despite the unpredictability of global industries. Minimalism has become a social norm in Japan that people have become possessed by claiming that it is more satisfying than having material things.
They argue that embracing a minimalist style of living brings a sense of freedom which they could not get from carrying on a materialistic lifestyle. According to society the most important things in life do not include material wealth but rather explores the personality of a person and their level of satisfaction. Toronto residents are in a better position to be introduced to this culture. The spread of minimalism over the parts of Canada will lead to a complete change of lifestyle. Because of the philosophy of minimalism, residents will adapt to cultures and practices of the Japanese society.
Due to Japanese influence on the natives of Canada, a minimalist lifestyle is likely to be adopted. Since this lifestyle puts more value on individual well-being, resources will be well utilized which will see great economic advancements in the future. As it might be perceived, it is not going without but rather have less of what you do not need and more of what you need. The 7,700 feet Muji store remains one of the largest stores in Toronto and the rest of Canada. The name of this venture draws its meaning from the Japanese words translated no brand quality.
Muji was founded in the 80s in Japan. It was later established in Canada in the year 2014. Since then, it has taken advantage of the large Canadian market. The public has continued to show their support to this brand thanks to the affordability and good quality of their products. This was proven during the opening of a branch in Burnaby. Reservations had to be organized in order to ensure the safety and comfort of its customers. It is one of the most successful brands to be introduced in Canada. Muji has indeed become a target destination for the people who love Japanese retail items. This attention by the residents to a foreign item has led to the decrease in the rates of growth of Canadian infant industries.
This is a major setback for the development of a city that aims of becoming a world-class business city. The items produced locally have lacked the market because of the availability of cheap foreign items. Infant industries need time to grow and therefore protective measures ought to have been put in place by the government of Canada. The idea of the Japanese brands is a bad strategy for a city like Toronto that aspires to succeed in globalization. It discourages hard work because people already feel contented with their current financial situations. The Japanese minimalism has interfered with the original culture of the Canadian residents hence it is a culture erotic factor (Projakta, 2017)
Today, minimalism refers to the use of self-sustaining pieces and material that can stand without external support. This practice is believed to utilize time as it is a major factor in life. Today, the minimalism of fashion can be accomplished through style. Shapes are made with no fills as more focus is on the material. For an instant, the Japanese minimalism prefers spending less time going shopping to create more time for leisure activities. This strategy tends to reveal the main purposes of life with implications that money is not a problem.
Minimalism has some short-term effects on a region's economy. However, it yields remarkable economic growth in the long-run. Lead by the motive that only essential items are consumed, minimalism leads to accumulation of resources which sees the growth of regions in the long-term. If minimalism is introduced in Toronto, Canada by the Japanese, the city will experience a decline in economic growth at first. Toronto has gained a worldwide recognition to be among the most multicultural and cosmopolitan regions (Georgina, 2015)
For thousands of years, Toronto has been occupied by indigenous people. It was badly damaged by the US troops in the times of World War 1. After the Second World War, Toronto extended its boundaries reaching 630.2km. An important aspect of Toronto is multiculturalism. Different ethnicities and cultures have their origin in Toronto. Between the 1970s and 1980s, the Canadian government officially initialized the adoption of multiculturalism (Walden " Keith, 2017)
Toronto's cultural policy provides that the city should be committed to maintaining its cultural reputation and equal distribution of cultural benefits. In 2011, the number of foreign-born residents had hit 49%. This came as a result of the diversity factor of Toronto. The city plays an important role in informal cultural activities. Toronto will continue to remain one of the most popular cities globally.
Works Cited
Woo, Hongjoo, and Byoungho Jin. "Asian apparel brands' internationalization: the application of theories to the cases of Giordano and Uniqlo." Fashion and Textiles 1.1 (2014): 4.
Hiam, C. Michael, Paul D. Berger, and Goli Eshghi. "Japan's Millennials: The Minimalist Consumers of the Yutori/Satori Generation." International Journal of Business Insights " Transformation 11.1 (2017).
Walden, Keith. Becoming Modern in Toronto: the Industrial Exhibition and the shaping of a late Victorian culture. University of Toronto Press, 1997.
Safe Georgina. "Why Japanese fashion label Until is such a success." Lifestyle Fashion 25.1 (2015):
Dhopade Prajakta "How Miniso is going to disrupt Canada's dollar store industry." News and Business 30.10 (2017)
