For its latest store opening, Muji has debuted in the heart of Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass.
Located at 48 Brattle Street, the outpost’s nearby neighbors include Patagonia, Marine Layer, Miniso, L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates and two women’s clothing stores, Tess and Mint Julep. With nearly 11,500 square feet of space over a few floors, Muji shoppers should have plenty of elbow room to check out the apparel, accessories, home wares, gifts and other items that the Japanese lifestyle brand is serving up.
This marks the retailer’s 12th store Stateside and its second location in the Boston area. With a little more than 900,000 square feet of retail space, Harvard Square is a popular pedestrian-friendly shopping area especially with college students and traffic from Harvard University. Representing more than 350 years of growth and change, Harvard Square houses a mix of cafés, stores, restaurants, housing and institutions including many long-standing independent businesses.
Operating more than 1,300 stores internationally, Muji is always looking for cities to expand into, according to a company spokesperson. The company is reportedly planning openings in Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Paris.
The Brattle Street location has a deep design heritage. After World War II, Harvard Square was the nucleus of the design world, thanks largely to the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where architects who were fleeing Europe gravitated and shared their modernist ideas with students. The presence and work of Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer and Le Corbusier helped to create what was known as “Cambridge Modern.”
The architect and Harvard Graduate School of Design faculty member Benjamin Thompson helped to solidify that by starting the interior design shop Design Research, which was known as “D/R” in 1953. For the opening of the company’s headquarters in 1969, Thompson created frameless glass walls as a way to connect use the building’s interior to enliven the streets. The former D/R headquarters now house the Muji store.
Its expansive facade means that passersby can get a good look at Muji’s wide range of merchandise and the well-designed space. Conversely, shoppers can get a sense for the street life and what’s happening outdoors.
Muji USA president Richard Rappaport said, “Harvard Square has long been a hub of culture, creativity and connection and we are thrilled to bring Muji into this community.”
The three-level space offers Muji’s stationery, travel accessories, luggage and men’s apparel and accessories on the ground floor. Women’s apparel and accessories, as well as health and beauty products are available on the first floor.
Shoppers keen on organizing will find cleaning and storage solutions, homeware, small furniture, bedding, kitchenware (including the relaunched Rice Cooker) and food products on the second floor.
A display in the new Muji store.
Photo by Joel Benjamin/Courtesy Muji
The Harvard Square location carries the recently launched Booster Series Skincare and repackaged Sensitive Skincare Series that is a popular seller in Japan. As part of Muji’s ongoing global effort to connect with local communities, Muji Harvard Square has Jarvis the Robot Barista, an automated coffee service that serves beverages for customers to enjoy as they explore the store. To try to encourage the academic community to share books, the Little Free Library is on-site, too. Denim recycling is also welcome via the Blue Jeans Go Green program that is in partnership with Cotton Inc.
Muji recently celebrated another milestone — the 10-year anniversary of its Fifth Avenue store in New York City. Unsuspecting shoppers joined in on the festivities Thursday night when they lined up for a slice of the anniversary cake from Nazli & Co. Like its competitors, Muji is gearing up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers with special offers for items as diverse as flannel tops and cacao truffles.
