The Commercial Zen of Muji | Hacker News Reader

The Commercial Zen of Muji

newyorker.com

80 pointsdavidbarker32 comments

I really love shopping at Muji (we have a few in the Beijing area); the products are simple, high quality, and relatively affordable (more expensive than Target and IKEA, but cheaper than a good department store). As stated in the article, their aesthetics are strictly earthy, they avoid wild colors, which works well for home goods, I think.

Things to look for at Muji if one moves into your town:

Linens (sheets, pillows, blanket covers) and towels are pretty soft.

Silverware (the spoons are awesome, I've never seen anything so well balanced).

Cleaning tools. Finding a decent broom in Beijing is really hard since no one cleans their own house...so Muji it is (the broom is small but has an articulate joint, can accept multiple extensions).

Pens. I really don't get this one, even the standard pens I buy in the states don't seem to write as smoothly, and of course in China there aren't any better options.

Snacks.

Living in NYC, I can vouch Muji is my best reasonably-priced readily-available option for most of those things, and thus all of them but the silverware (we inherited a full set) are in my current living space. Fascinating that one Japanese store is serving urbanites in both the US and China.

My wife doesn't really understand my obsessions with the spoons. They just feel better than anything I've used before.

Muji has done very well in China, they have them in just about all the good malls. But it is nothing compared to Japan...the Muji in Ginza Tokyo even sells houses!

Yet another MUJI fanatic here. The San Francisco store gets my recurrent patronage.

I would also recommend their furniture - I have a very comfortable bed and floor chair from there, and their recliner seat is terribly comfortable (but sadly I do not have the space for it in my tiny SF bedroom)

The only downside is that after you've been shopping to MUJI in Japan, you realize that you do pay a premium in the US. Oh well, worth it.

What is the markup in the US? We do have a markup in China, but it isn't that large...about 10% or so, which seems quite reasonable.

It's been a few months since I've been to the SF one, but if I remember correctly, it was about 30-40% above the price on the Japanese label.

Seems to be a large premium for Sydney too :( Still work it for most things!

High quality? They sell furniture made from cardboard. Spill anything on it and it's destroyed immediately. Pens? Seriously? There pens are no better and arguably worse than just about any pens I'v used. I bought some filing boxes from Muji, they fell apart after a very short use. They also sell mostly tasteless food.

Muji to me is the ultimate scam. They make very crappy products but their color scheme and presentation make it appear nice and people eat it up. I used to be fooled by it myself.

Almost every illustrator, designer, or artist I know really enjoy using their pens. YMMV. Also not sure what furniture you are referring to, but they have a lot made from solid wood. https://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?Sec=19

Yeah, their .5mm pens are fantastic. I've used them for so long that my handwriting goes weird when I use a different make.

They produce a lovely black line and the ink is quick drying, which for a lefty is vital. I make a special journey every few months to stock up.

The notebooks are good too, though I haven't forgiven them for discontinuing their A5 spiral bound sketchbook years ago, which was perfect. If I had realised it was going away, I'd have gone round every branch in London and bought them all up.

... If I had realised it was going away, I'd have gone round every branch in London and bought them all up.

I feel exactly the same way about their now-discontinued passport notebook. If I'd realised it was in danger of extinction, I'd have bulk-bought every one I could get my hands on.

Mujis products are all cheaply made in China but I wouldn't call it a scam per se. It's applying high end design to low end materials the same as Uniqlo, Ikea etc have done.

Many are made in China, but not all. Fair amount of "Made in Japan" goods. Their US site is down for maintenance but, for example, this product:

http://www.muji.net/store/cmdty/detail/4547315002870

… is made in Japan. Search for "原産国" (country of origin) and note "日本" (Japan).

Also, they make a lot in Thailand.

Muji in Japan is a bit better, if only because the prices here are more in line with the quality. I agree that most of their stuff looks better than it lasts.

I just visited their brand-new store in Kyoto, and it looks like they're changing in the right way. More selection and hints of better quality.

I live in Japan. If it's worse in the USA then wow, I can't imagine how bad it is.

Their plastic drawers are the worst among every brand I've tried. Their modular wire shelves are so flimsy they might has well be called disposable.

Tried the pens and love em. Bought a few boxes full of pens, as we don't have a Muji close by and am still insanely happy with them more than a year later. The Pens are a joy to write with. And I'm picky as hell when it comes to pens :)

How do they compare to uni-ball? my current favourite for the last decade or so, especially the micro thin ones. Together with moleskine - it's a match made in heaven. Wondering if anything can top it, but always willing to experiment.

I've never tried their furniture before. Frankly, they try to sell Japanese furniture here, which is just too close to the floor for a dirty place like Beijing.

The pens have a really smooth writing feel to them. If you aren't into writing a lot, you might not notice. The only other pens I can get a similar smoothness feel are the really expensive ones.

The marshmallows are pretty good, oh and the cookies make good snacks. It isn't just special, but quite convenient.

I disagree with your assessment, but do you have any points of comparison?

UK: I'd add their notebooks. Practical (most can fold flat on the table), very reasonably priced, if not super-famous-writer-quality.

I regret that the double ended hexagonal felt-tipped pens are no longer stocked. I've not taught a teenager student who wasn't immediately fascinated by these!

If you ever find their suitcase which can be unzipped flat let me know and I'll pay whatever you want to have a couple of them shipped to Europe!

I don't have a Muji near me, but shop on their online store at least a couple of times a year. Some of their stuff is of average quality and not worth bothering with, but some is excellent.

Some favourites:

Their Hakuji porcelain[1] is beautiful, simple crockery that manages to be unassuming without being plain; the slight blueish cast that it has is just lovely. If I didn't have a perfectly good set of plates already, I'd buy a complete set.

The Acrylic Storage range is a little pricey, but lovely, and better-made than the cheaper, no-brand stuff I occasionally see in shops locally.

They used to sell passport-sized notebooks, but discontinued them some time ago. An email to their (excellent) customer service people when they first disappeared from the UK online store was met with assurances that they would be restocked, but sadly this hasn't happened and they've disappeared from the other online stores. I never followed up with customer service, but I think it's clear that they're now completely discontinued.

Their nail-clippers are made in Japan, excellent, and ludicrously cheap.[2] The Sweet Home rates them as ["the best for trimming both fingernails and toenails".

They make a great exfoliating cloth, just over a metre long, which does wonders for your back and skin in general.

They also stock and sell a range of B5-sized notebooks, which are otherwise nearly impossible to find in the UK. The blandly named "B5 Double Ring Notebook"[4] is my favourite notebook ever, and a steal at £2.95 for 80 blank sheets. The range of B5 notebooks offered on their website has contracted in the last year or so, sadly, which is presumably due to poor sales.

[1]: http://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?Sec=11&Sub=97

[2]: http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/may/03/sali-hughes-b...

[3]: http://thesweethome.com/reviews/the-best-nail-clippers/

[4]: http://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?Sec=12&Sub=49&PID=7137

Muji trivia: the name in kanji is 無印良品. The four characters mean "no label fine goods". Just in case you wondered why there are no labels.

I thought it's 母鸡. Just joking :D

(母鸡, hen in Chinese, pronounced as "Mu Ji")

Reading this as an openly insufferable Muji fanatic (did anyone else see Kazuko Koike at the pre-opening event at the 5th avenue store? it was great!) this was written by a closeted Muji fanatic. I approve. Hopefully they won't dilute their formula by expanding, but really I'd be happy if they just launched the full Japanese line in NYC and SF. And I want to tour some of those Muji homes. Yes, that's how bad I have it.

Sounds a lot like Uniqlo. Wonder if this normcore approach gets as popular in other areas as well.

Uniqlo is strictly clothing. Muji has close to a department-store range of items (smaller selection outside Japan).

I meant in approach, this one seems like Uniqlo of department stores. Will we see "Uniqlo of X" in other areas as well?

The Muji store locator amusingly lists the two Toronto locations as being in the US: http://www.muji.com/storelocator/?c=us&lang=EN&header=gl

Sometimes I wonder if they are really that good. They are comparatively expensive in my opinion. Especially their furniture

Get a Muji multitool. I have one next to me at all times. A ridiculously useful object.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com