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MUJI Unveils Furniture Subscription So You Can Rent Fixtures For WFH & More
By Mikelle Leow, 16 Jul 2020
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Image via MUJI
For those who can’t wait to check MUJI’s hotels off their bucket lists, this might be the closest alternative you can get until the COVID-19 situation subsides—but that’s not to say it’s any less superior. The Japanese homeware company reputed for its quality “brandless” items is rolling out a subscription service to let you rent its furniture. Imagine waking up to, and working in, a home filled with MUJI products every day.
With traditional corporate values embedded in their culture, the Japanese are expectedly grappling with new work-from-home arrangements. MUJI is addressing this challenge with a furniture subscription program called ‘Petite Renovation’ to help workers adjust to remote-working as their new normal.
The subscription service will allow members to rent items and sets for offices, bedrooms, and lounges for up to four years through monthly or annual payments, with subscriptions starting from JP¥800 (US$7.50) per month.
After the rental period is up, customers can decide if they’d like to return, purchase, or extend the use of the products.
The concept makes sense for the Japanese lifestyle. Apartments in Japan’s urban areas can be quite cramped, and the nation’s legendary minimalist habits are often necessary. The idea of obtaining furniture without fully owning them would be an attractive one there, indeed. Also, customers can use this opportunity to test if a piece of MUJI furniture is up to their expectations, or if they’d like to incorporate it into their homes.
The initiative will first be available in major Japanese cities before rolling out elsewhere.
Unfortunately, there’s no word on whether the program will be introduced in other parts of the world yet. It’s less likely to be in MUJI’s foreseeable plans for the United States, where the company recently filed for bankruptcy. MUJI USA is currently working on a restructuring model, and plans to shut down less profitable stores in the near future.
In the meantime, you might like to take this quiz that assesses how you can improve your work-from-home environment, if rentable MUJI products are still out of reach.
Image via MUJI
Images via MUJI
Images via MUJI
[via The Spaces, images via MUJI]
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