The Disappeared Japanese Liquor Revival... 'Uniqlo' Also Sees Sales Rebound (Comprehensive)

January Japanese Beer Import Value $2 Million... Highest in 3 Years 6 Months
Uniqlo Sales Recovery... Re-targeting Through Social Contribution Activities

Imports and sales of Japanese alcoholic beverages are rapidly increasing. The boycott movement against Japanese products, known as ‘No Japan,’ has been fading year by year, and in January this year, the import value of Japanese beer exceeded $2 million, marking the highest level since Japan imposed semiconductor material export restrictions on South Korea. Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo also saw significant increases in sales and operating profits.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

January Imports of Japanese Beer Reach $2 Million... Highest Since Semiconductor Export Restrictions

According to customs trade statistics on the 7th, the import value of Japanese beer in January this year was $2,004,000, a 314.9% increase compared to the same period last year. This is the highest in 3 years and 6 months since July 2019 ($4,342,000), when Japan began restricting exports of semiconductor and display materials to South Korea, citing the forced labor compensation ruling as a pretext.

The import value of Japanese beer exceeded $4 million in July 2019 but sharply shrank to $223,000 the following month and plummeted further to $6,000 in September, hitting rock bottom. This was due to the boycott movement against Japanese beer, clothing, and automobiles in South Korea following Japan’s export restrictions.

However, as the boycott movement cooled down, the import value of Japanese beer recovered to $1,503,000 in March last year, surpassing the $1 million mark for the first time since the export restrictions. From May to December last year, it remained above $1 million for eight consecutive months. In January this year, it even surpassed the $2 million mark.

Last year, the import value of Japanese beer was $14,484,000, an increase of 110.7% compared to the previous year. The import value of Japanese beer was $78,300,000 in 2018 but sharply declined to $39,756,000 in 2019 and further dropped to $5,668,000 in 2020. However, it turned to an upward trend afterward, slightly increasing to $6,875,000 in 2021 and more than doubling to over $14 million last year.

Japanese beer accounted for 7.4% of the total beer import value last year. This share was 25.3% in 2018 before Japan’s export restrictions but fell to 14.2% in 2019 and 2.5% in 2020. It remained at 3.1% in 2021 and recovered to 7.4% last year, but it is still far from the pre-export restriction level.

Not only Japanese beer but also whiskey imports are rapidly increasing, riding the popularity of highballs and other drinks. According to customs data, the import value of Japanese whiskey last year was $4,148,000 (about 5.4 billion KRW), a 31.4% increase ($991,000) from 2021 ($3,157,000). The import volume also rose by 34.6%, from 396 tons to 533 tons during the same period. The import value of Japanese whiskey was around $1,580,000 in 2018 but decreased to about $1,360,000 in 2019 when the boycott movement against Japanese products intensified. However, it has been steadily increasing since the following year when the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading.

The recent popularity of Japanese alcoholic beverages is led by whiskey brands such as Suntory’s ‘Yamazaki’ and ‘Hibiki.’ Before the boycott movement, beer was the flagship product of Japanese alcoholic beverages, but the COVID-19 pandemic fostered a home drinking and solo drinking culture, increasing interest among younger consumers in trying high-end whiskey. This interest naturally extended to Japanese whiskey, which has long been internationally recognized for its quality.

Japanese whiskey’s rarity also stimulates consumer demand. Since the 1990s, Japan’s economy has stagnated and prolonged recession has shrunk the whiskey industry, leading to reduced production. Due to the long aging period characteristic of whiskey, future demand is difficult to predict, and the previously reduced production volume has recently caused supply shortages and price increases.

The trend of drinking highballs?whiskey mixed with soda water?has become popular, overshadowing the ‘No Japan’ sentiment and contributing to the demand for Japanese whiskey. Japan is one of the countries where whiskey highballs are most commonly consumed. In particular, highballs made with Suntory’s ‘Kakubin’ are considered the standard for highballs domestically and enjoy high popularity. Kakubin’s relatively affordable price also encourages young consumers to purchase it without hesitation. The industry expects the popularity of highballs to continue for the time being.

Suntory Whiskey 'Gakubin'

'No Japan' Erasure Efforts by Uniqlo... Sales Rebound and Re-Entry into Korean Market

The boycott movement against Japanese clothing shows a pattern similar to that of Japanese beer. Uniqlo has recently entered a recovery phase and is actively working to erase the ‘No Japan’ stigma.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system, FRL Korea, which operates the Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo, recorded sales of 704.3 billion KRW for the fiscal year 2021 (September 2021 to August 2022), a 20.9% increase from the previous year. Operating profit rose 116.8% to 114.8 billion KRW. FRL Korea’s sales sharply dropped from 1.3781 trillion KRW in 2018 to 629.8 billion KRW in 2019, then decreased further to 582.4 billion KRW in 2020 before recovering to around 700 billion KRW in 2021.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The recent fading of the ‘No Japan’ atmosphere and the rapid increase in fashion demand following the reopening are believed to have contributed to the sales recovery. Uniqlo is actively targeting the domestic market again to maintain this momentum. In particular, it is adopting a strategy of fostering emotional connections through various social contribution activities to build empathy. Since it was one of the biggest victims of the ‘No Japan’ movement, it has chosen a direction that contributes to Korean society while enhancing its corporate image.

Recently, Uniqlo partnered with the social welfare foundation Children and Future Foundation to launch the ‘Slowly Together’ campaign to support children with learning difficulties. The campaign aims to provide 1 billion KRW in support to develop various programs to improve basic learning abilities, interpersonal relationships, and social skills of children with learning delays. Last year, Uniqlo also ran the ‘Our Children’s Happy Table’ campaign with the Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation to provide healthy food to children at regional children’s centers nationwide. Additionally, this year, it plans to continue various activities such as a clothing reform support campaign for people with disabilities, the ‘Our Children’s Happy Table’ campaign, a shopping event for children at childcare centers in Busan, and marine environmental cleanup activities.

Uniqlo entered the Korean market in 2005 and became the first fashion brand to surpass 1 trillion KRW in sales in 2015, ten years later. It maintained this level and achieved sales of 1.4188 trillion KRW in 2018. However, with the intensification of the ‘No Japan’ boycott movement in 2019, sales halved to 974.9 billion KRW that year and further dropped to 574.6 billion KRW in 2020. The number of stores, which once exceeded 180, also significantly decreased to 125 as of last month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.