Exciting news from Japan, where two of the country’s leading retailers are teaming up to launch a joint store concept.

Exciting news from Japan, where two of the country’s leading retailers are teaming up to launch a joint store concept.

Clothing retailer Uniqlo and Bic Camera, a consumer electronics player, will open the cleverly named Bicqlo (see what they’ve done there?) in Tokyo later this month.

Located near the busy Shinjuku train station, the 43,057 sq ft store is designed to cater for shoppers, including tourists, looking for fashion and electrical appliances  at the same time.

The partners will place complementary product ranges together and promotional space will be shared. Early photos show a mannequin wearing women’s clothes and holding a vacuum cleaner.

I’m not sure whether this example boosts the aspirational image of Uniqlo’s clothing (“Wow, I would look so good vacuuming in that”) but at least it’s practical.

You can see the basic reasoning behind the tie-up. Sharing space in a large, high-traffic, high-rental location could make financial sense. And there could be slight product crossover, such as MP3 players and fitness equipment jointly displayed with gym or active clothing.

Or how about Uniqlo’s HeatTech clothing next to heaters or blankets? But aside from a few such examples, do people really want to shop for fashion and electronics in a single store?

The difficulty is aligning two different brands and consumer needs. Shoppers wanting to buy electronics will need to be convinced that service and expertise will still be available. And, with price becoming so important in electronics, Uniqlo will have to work hard to make sure its products remain aspirational. It will do no good at all if it finds its latest clothing ranges displayed in conjunction with heavily discounted kitchen appliances, for example.

It got me thinking, though, about what other retailers could potentially link in a similar way. Probably the closest example to Bicqlo translated into the Western retail landscape would be Gap hooking up with Best Buy or Dixons.

But how about HMV joining forces with H&M to create H&MV? Maybe not. But perhaps it’s something we will see more of in the coming years as retailers re-evaluate their physical space.