The French branch of Uniqlo introduces a robot as a new staff member in Paris

Written by Agathe Peyre

Have you ever dreamt of going shopping and being welcomed by robots instead of the boutique's staff members ? If not, there is no need to dream about that because Uniqlo has made it a reality. Indeed on November, 4th at Marché Saint-Germain in Paris, the Japanese brand Uniqlo 'hired' a new staff member : a humanoid robot. Nowadays, it is true that new technologies are everywhere but now this is not any new technology, this is a humanoid robot that we are speaking about. It leads us to an essential question that the world already had in mind while the labour force were replaced by machines in many industries : Will robots replace every human's job ? 

UNIQLO – Unique and Clothing

For those who don't know, Uniqlo Corporation Limited is a Japanese fashion retail brand selling mainly casual wear. In 1984, Tadashi Yanai opened its first Uniqlo shop in Hiroshima, Japan. It has become a multinational thanks to the quality o itsf offer and services and has stores in France (about 13 stores), in Germany, in Belgium and in the United Kingdom concerning the European Union. Its status of 'Specialty store retailer of Private label Apparel' gives the French store the possibility of manufacturing and producing clothes from their conception (with the design, etc) to the marketing strategies to sell the products, etc. The brand promotes the simplicity of their clothes and is now saying for the Paris store that they want to also simplify French customers' shopping experience by introducing Pepper, the new (humanoid robot) member of Uniqlo's staff. 

Who is Pepper ?

Actually you may already have heard of this robot called Pepper as it was first disclosed in 2014 (but launched in 2015) that French company Aldebaran Robotics (bought over by the Japanese company SoftBank) had created this robot. This robot has the capacity of perceiving the main human emotions from which it can change what it says, based on the emotion of its interlocutor. In big cities in Japan, it is almost common to see Pepper or any other robots in the entry of some stores but it is still rare in France or even in any other country of Europe. However Uniqlo wants to amaze its customers by introducing their 'Pepper' who will welcome and explain every exclusive services the store is offers like booking a table at a restaurant, calling a taxi or telling the customers where to find taxis.

What future for robots ?

Nowadays, robots are taking a more and more significant place in our society. Especially in Japan (the country where robot technology is making progress quite rapidly), robots are even beginning to invade people's houses. Only a few years after introducing robots which welcome customers in several stores, robots are becoming faithful companions, almost like family pets. Indeed, in Japan these companion robots are becoming a trend. They can recognize humans' emotions, recognize people's face or start conversations. Robots are becoming more and more human. Until now, Japan has put on sale 3 different companion robots : Pepper (Pepper can also be a companion robot), Robohon and Kirobi Mini. Prices are becoming more and more accessible as Pepper costs about €8000 (about USD 8500) (the robot in itself costs €1400 but there are several added costs which brings to a total of €8000 in 3 years), Robohon costs €1400 (about USD 1480) while the most recent one, Kirobi Mini costs only €335 (about USD 355).

Given that, we can ask ourselves if the same thing is going to happen in France as they are beginning to introduce robots in stores. 

Humans cared by robots

As said earlier, robots are becoming family pets but for who ? Actually the distribution of these robots for homes is first for elderly people as in Japan the population is aging, and Japanese companies which have created robots often give their robots the purpose of helping elderly people. For example Toyota the creator of Kirobi Mini is aiming to help elderly people suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's to help them remember things for example. Another robot called RoBear is also for elderly people and is capable of carrying a person from his bed to his wheelchair. In fact there are quite a few. Also, at the same time these robots can be a support for disabled persons.