Slate did a nice piece on Muji, the Japanese retail store that’s coming to New York soon (and we first wrote about in January). Michael Hsu does a great job explaining what to expect from the chain:

Muji is often compared to Target or IKEA—perhaps the two most famous purveyors of “good design” at affordable prices—but Muji takes a decidedly different tack from its much larger American and Swedish counterparts. Target insists on “surprising and delighting” its guests; IKEA implores customers to “be brave, not beige.” Muji, in contrast, revels in neutrality. Almost all of its products are devoid of color, and the most surprising and delightful aspect of their design is how nondescript they are. A teakettle designed for Target will likely have a visual flourish—a spinning piece of plastic on its spout, perhaps—while a Muji teakettle is content to be just what you expect a teakettle to be.

Coming to America [Slate.com via Racked]