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Tag: uniqlo

  • Uniqlo parent says profit slipped as Japan, China drag growth

    Uniqlo parent says profit slipped as Japan, China drag growth

    Japan’s Fast Retailing Co, owner of clothing brand Uniqlo, said on Thursday that first quarter earnings slid 2%, reflecting weakness at home and continuing COVID-19 restrictions in China.

    A day after announcing plans for big wage rises, the company said operating profit had been 117.1 billion yen ($889.82 million) in the three months to the end of November, compared with 119.4 billion yen a year earlier.

    The consensus forecast was for 135.3 billion yen, according to the average of five analyst estimates collected by Refinitiv.

    Domestic results were hit by warmer weather in November that stifled sales of fall and winter wear, while COVID curbs continued to weigh on China, including the temporary closure of 247 stores in Beijing and Guangzhou.

    “Once ‘with corona’ lifestyles take root, we think a normal operations will come back on the Chinese mainland,” CFO Takeshi Okazaki told reporters.

    Sales and earnings in all other regions increased. The company held its full-year operating profit forecast at 350 billion yen.

    The company, Japan’s biggest retailer, sent shockwaves through the country on Wednesday by saying it would lift its employees’ wages by as much as 40%. That greatly satisfied policymakers, who had been urging employers to raise wages to help offset the highest inflation in a generation.

    “From a macro perspective, this move highlights that it is becoming increasingly difficult for Japanese companies to attract and retain workers,” said Mark Chadwick, an independent equities analyst who publishes on the Smartkarma platform.

    Fast Retailing, which operates more than 3,500 clothing stores worldwide, reported record profit last fiscal year, as growth in North America and Europe compensated for a slump in China.

    The company is seen as a bellwether for the Chinese market, where it produces many of its goods and operates almost 900 Uniqlo stores, more than in Japan.

    Fast Retailing’s share price slid 2% in Tokyo trade, compared to a flat benchmark Nikkei index.

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  • Uniqlo owner set for record annual profit, but all eyes on China showing

    Uniqlo owner set for record annual profit, but all eyes on China showing

    Japan’s Fast Retailing Co, owner of clothing brand Uniqlo, is expected to post a record annual profit on Thursday as the yen’s slump has boosted the value of its overseas sales even as soaring living costs dampen prospects for retailers.

    The company, Japan’s biggest retailer, has posted strong performances in North America and Europe in the first three quarters of the fiscal year that ended in August, but investors will look for signs of a recovery in China, its biggest foreign market with nearly 900 stores.

    Operating profit for the fiscal year is expected to rise nearly 17% to 291 billion yen ($1.99 billion), according to an average of 12 analyst estimates from Refinitiv. Fast Retailing has forecast 290 billion yen.

    That would exceed the previous profit record of 263 billion yen in the year ended in August 2019. For the fourth quarter, analysts expect a 7% drop in profit.

    The company, founded by Japan’s richest man, Tadashi Yanai, is a bellwether for global retailers operating in China, the world’s second-biggest economy but where sales and profits have been hurt by strict COVID-19 control measures.

    As its Chinese operations slumped, Fast Retailing has put increased focus on North America and expects to turn an annual profit in the region for the first time this year.

    But even in the United States and Europe, people are avoiding shopping for clothes, hurting sales at companies including H&M and prompting retailers to slash prices to clear inventory.

    “China is continuously failing to live up to the company’s expectations and the only factors holding Uniqlo’s share price from breaking down are the North America growth and the yen depreciation,” LightStream Research analyst Oshadhi Kumarasiri wrote in a report on the Smartkarma platform.

    “Those too are now under threat, with a looming recession and Fed rate hikes failing to curb inflation,” he said.

    The yen slid to a fresh 24-year low against the dollar on Wednesday. Fast Retailing’s shares are up 18% in 2022, compared with an 8.5% drop in the benchmark Nikkei index.

    Yanai, who founded the company and owned about 21% of it as of February, and his family had a net worth of $23.6 billion as of May, according to Forbes.

    Seven & I Holdings, another Japanese retailer with a large U.S. footprint, raised its full-year profit forecastlast week, citing the weak yen and strong fuel sales at its convenience stores in North America.

  • Uniqlo to expand physical presence into Poland

    Uniqlo to expand physical presence into Poland

    Japan’s leading fast-fashion brand Uniqlo is opening a pop-up in Domy Towarowe Wars Sawa Junior in Warsaw, the capital city of Poland, this fall.

    The opening of the two-floor, 8,600-square-foot pop-up store will mark the first time the Fast Retailing-owned brand will extend its physical presence to Poland, a market served by the retailer’s Europe online store for the past six years.

    The brand operates offline stores in the U.K., France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands and Italy.

    Located a stone’s throw from the landmark building Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, the store will stock items from the brand’s women’s, men’s and babies collections.

    Taku Morikawa, chief executive officer of Uniqlo Europe, said the decision to establish a physical presence in this new market “builds on our experience of offering customers the latest products via the Uniqlo Europe online store.”

    “Through our pop-up store, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of the Polish market and use learnings to make long-term plans for the future,” he added.

    In a previous interview, Morikawa said that Uniqlo’s European expansion plans are not to increase sales, at least not for now.

    “The priority now is to show our company and to be respected by the consumers with flagship stores showing everything and offering a good shopping experience,” he said.

    Scott Dwyer, group managing director of retail at Atrium European Real Estate, the owner of Wars Sawa Junior, believes Uniqlo will “feel right at home” as “Wars Sawa Junior is the perfect place to start a presence in the Polish market for the most popular international brands.”

    “The location is right in the bustling city center, close to the city’s busiest commuting hubs, business districts and most popular tourist attractions. By working with brands such as Uniqlo, we wish to attract a new generation of customers that values a genuine relationship with brands and the ability to directly experience the products they offer.”

  • Uniqlo owner to raise prices on fleece products due to weak yen

    Uniqlo owner to raise prices on fleece products due to weak yen

    The owner of Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo said on Tuesday it will raise prices on some goods this fall, reflecting increasing cost pressures from the weak yen and logistical hurdles.

    Prices on fleece goods and down jackets in the fall/winter product lines will go up by 1,000 yen (US$7.54), a spokesperson confirmed, after an earlier report by the Jiji news service. The company is also increasing the use of recycled polyester in its fleece products to keep costs down.

    Consumer prices are surging in Japan after decades of deflation, driven by the yen’s drop to a 20-year low against the dollar and soaring energy costs.

    Fast Retailing has competed on low-cost basics like socks and underwear for decades, but its executives have warned recently that rising production costs would necessitate price hikes.

    Founder Tadashi Yanai in April railed against the decline in Japan’s currency, saying there was “absolutely no merit” in a weak yen.

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  • Uniqlo owner sees big profit drop in China due to Covid restrictions

    Uniqlo owner sees big profit drop in China due to Covid restrictions

    The owner of Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo on Thursday flagged a big profit drop in China due to COVID-19 restrictions, while its chief executive sounded alarm about the weakening yen’s potential to drive up costs.

    Fast Retailing is a rare bellwether for both global retailers in China, its biggest foreign market, and consumer demand in Japan, where it has carved out a dominant position by offering casual clothing to famously price-conscious shoppers.

    It and other multi-national retailers are now being forced to deal with lockdown measures in China. Fast Retailing has 863 stores on the mainland and almost 90 outlets in Shanghai, where strict measures, introduced in late March, remain in place to contain the country’s worst outbreak of the pandemic.

    McDonald’s and Starbucks, which each have dozens of outlets in Shanghai, have also been impacted as has production for retailers such as H&M, and Nike.

    Fast Retailing said it expects revenue declines and a large drop in profit in its Greater China segment in the second half and for the whole of fiscal 2022 due to COVID restrictions.

    Sales in the Greater China region, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, were hit in March, as up to 133 stores were temporarily shut.

    It has more Uniqlo stores in China than in Japan. It opened a flagship store in Beijing in November, and plans to open in 100 locations in the country each year.

    Separately, luxury brand Hermes said it had a strong start of the year in China until the beginning of March and is confident stores closed in Shanghai will reopen quickly.

    But the weakening yen and higher costs have forced Fast Retailing to consider price rises, a major shift for a company that has long competed on price.

    “There’s absolutely no merit to a weak yen,” Chief Executive Tadashi Yanai told reporters.

    “Japan is engaged in the business of importing raw materials from all over the world, processing them, adding value to them, and selling them. In this context, there is no advantage if the value of a country’s currency weakens.”

    The yen has been hammered this year, falling to the weakest level in almost 20 years against the dollar. For many Japanese companies that manufacture offshore – like Fast Retailing – the weak yen is less of a benefit than for traditional exporters.

    The company reported a record half-year profit on Thursday, buoyed by sales growth in North America, Europe, and other parts of Asia, while revenue and profit declined in Japan and China.

    Operating profit climbed 18% to 189 billion yen ($1.51 billion) in the six months through February from a year earlier.

    The company maintained its full-year profit forecast at 270 billion yen. That compares with a consensus forecast for annual profit to total 278 billion yen, according to a Refinitiv poll of 11 analysts.

    The Ukraine crisis has created another headwind, leading the company to close its 50 stores in Russia, after it initially resisted calls to exit the market along with other major brands.

    Prior to the earnings release, shares in Fast Retailing closed up 2.1%, versus a 1.2% gain in the broader market.

  • Uniqlo launches online alteration service

    Uniqlo launches online alteration service

    Fashion is a great tool of self-expression, but it’s not always accessible for people with disabilities, illnesses, and injuries. Since a lot of clothes can be hard to put on when your mobility is limited, there are very few clothes available, and a lot of disabled people, especially in Japan, have a hard time finding clothing that’s easy to wear but also stylish.

    That’s why former Uniqlo employee Teppei Maeda started clothing alterations service Kiyasuku, which translates as “easy to put on” or “easy to wear.” After discussing clothing options for people with disabilities with a hearing-impaired coworker, Maeda decided to interview hundreds of people to learn more. That’s how he found out that the biggest fashion challenge for people with disabilities is that there just aren’t enough types of clothes they can wear.

    So Maeda began to think about what he could do to help, and that’s how Kiyasuku, Japan’s first-ever online tailoring service specifically for individuals with disabilities, was born. The company offers to modify the parts of clothes that make them difficult to put on. For example, they can alter T-shirts and sweatshirts so that they open up in the front, and remove zippers and buttons and replace them with velcro. They can work with all kinds of garments, from casual wear to outerwear. That’s a service that’s hard to find.

    The order process is also extremely easy and all done online. Once you have an item of clothing you want to be altered, you access the website, indicate what alterations you want, and choose your tailor. After a digital meeting with the tailor through the website, you send off your clothes via the post, and they’ll fix it up for you and send it back.

    The staff at Kiyasuku are highly dedicated to the cause with an earnest desire to help people in need, so you can rest assured that your clothing will be well taken care of. One member is even the parent of a child with a disability, who learned to sew by altering clothes for their child.

    Kiyasuku sounds like a great service that lets people wear clothes they want to wear, not just because it’s something they’ll be able to wear. Want to wear the latest Pokemon graphic tees from UNIQLO, but can’t pull them over your head? Want to be comfy and stylish at home with hakama pajamas but find them tricky to get on? Or have you always wanted to go gothic lolita but never thought you could be able to put all the different pieces together? Kiyasuku can probably help.

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  • Uniqlo plans five more stores in Singapore

    Uniqlo plans five more stores in Singapore

    Apparel retailer Uniqlo says it will open another five stores in Singapore, taking its network there to 31 stores.

    The first neighbourhood store will open at Ang Mo Kio and Clementi in the first quarter of this year. Uniqlo says the 1297sqm store will be a testbed for inclusive in-store features such as a wheelchair-friendly fitting room, community partnership projects, and sustainability initiatives.

    The locations of the other four new stores have yet to be confirmed.

    Yuki Yamada, CEO at Uniqlo Singapore and Malaysia, said: “To complement our existing network of mall-based outlets, the new store at Ang Mo Kia 51 will bring LifeWear essentials closer home to the heartlanders to enjoy shopping convenience.

    “As a global retailer, we are in a unique position to use our business to benefit the community around us by offering greater inclusivity and contributing meaningfully to a more sustainable society,” she added.

    The brand works with special education schools and social service organisations to provide an assisted shopping experience to customers with special needs in their preferred time slots which must be booked in advance.

    The company has also launched Uniqlo Repair Studio in store, the first permanent offering in Asia to extend the life of Uniqlo’s clothing. Trained staff at the site will repair and alter damaged clothing.

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  • Uniqlo set to come to Hai Phong

    Uniqlo set to come to Hai Phong

    Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo plans to open its first store in the northern city of Hai Phong this summer.

    It will be a 2,000-square-meter outlet at Aeon Mall Le Chan.

    Uniqlo, which came to the Vietnamese market two years ago, now has 10 stores in Hanoi and HCMC.

    Globally, it has over 2,300 in 25 countries and territories.

    German research firm Statista estimates Vietnam’s fashion industry to grow at an average annual rate of 22.5 percent in 2017-22 to reach US$988 million.

  • Uniqlo owner’s profits boosted by overseas surge as Japan sales fall

    Uniqlo owner’s profits boosted by overseas surge as Japan sales fall

    Japan’s Fast Retailing, owner of clothing brand Uniqlo, said on Thursday overseas markets powered profit growth in the first quarter, even as sales declined at home and in China.

    The results marked a reversal from the past few years when China and Japan were the big sales and profit growth drivers for the retailer.

    Operating profit rose 5.6 percent to 119.4 billion yen ($1.04 billion) in the three months ended Nov. 30. That beat the market’s consensus of 102.6 billion yen, according to the average of analysts’ forecasts from Refinitiv.

    The company maintained its forecast for operating profit to climb 8.4 percent to 270 billion yen in the fiscal year ending in August.

    Uniqlo’s international business reported record first-quarter results, driven by sales from South Asia, North America, and Europe. The pandemic weighed on results in China, while warm weather in Japan depressed sales of Fall and Winter clothes.

    The company said in October it expects a gradual recovery to pre-pandemic levels as Covid-19 vaccinations progress and as it makes further inroads in the Chinese market.

    Fast Retailing opened a flagship store in Beijing in November, its third megastore in mainland China, and plans to open 100 locations in the country each year going forward.

    But the company has also flagged the risk of continued production and logistic delays that have plagued major clothing groups. In September, Fast Retailing said some clothing releases would be delayed due to pandemic-related lockdowns at partner factories in Vietnam.

    In addition, the rapid depreciation of the yen is raising costs for raw materials and shipping, adding to domestic pricing pressure, chief financial officer Takeshi Okazaki told reporters in Tokyo.

    “We have reached a point where we have no choice but to raise the prices of some products,” he said.

    As the company becomes increasingly global, strength or weakness of the yen will become less important, and stable currency markets are ideal for operations, he added.

    Fast Retailing’s shares have fallen 9.5 percent year-to-date, compared with a 1.1 percent drop in the benchmark Nikkei 225 index.

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  • Uniqlo clothes plans to produce from recycled materials by 2030

    Uniqlo clothes plans to produce from recycled materials by 2030

    Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing says its clothes will be made of 50% recycled materials by 2030 as it works toward its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

    The goal was announced on Thursday along with other sustainability targets and follows an announcement in February that Fast Retailing is shooting for carbon neutrality by 2050.

    Currently, about 15% of the polyester the apparel maker uses comes from recycled PET bottles. The company says it will start with synthetic fibers such as rayon and nylon as it begins to raise its garments’ recycled materials ratio.

    Fast also articulated its carbon emissions reduction plan toward 2030. In its own operations, the company intends to reduce these emissions by 90% from 2019 levels.

    Improving energy efficiency at its stores will be key as the stores account for the majority of the company’s total emissions. Fast aims to emit 40% less from its roadside stores and 20% less from its stores inside malls.

    It will accelerate its stores’ switch from electricity to renewable energy sources. Currently, 64 Uniqlo stores in nine European countries run on renewable energy. All stores in North America and some in Southeast Asia will follow suit and complete the switch by the end of this fiscal year ending next August, the company said.

    Fast also aims to encourage companies along its supply chain to reduce their emissions. Among its raw material providers and sewing factories, it is shooting for a 20% cut in emissions by 2030, based on 2019 levels.

    It will consider granting financial support to help factories invest in facilities.

    The fashion industry is widely considered the world’s second most polluting industry.

    Fast Retailing Director Koji Yanai told reporters that the company will reduce waste by improving the accuracy of its production volume forecasts and by reforming its logistics operations. It expects these steps to help it sell out of what it makes.

    The casual apparel maker will also collect more used clothes. Yanai said the company hopes to launch a collection service that utilizes the delivery personnel involved in bringing orders to customers’ doors. In Yanai’s vision, when a new jacket is delivered, the customer will be able to hand the driver an old jacket.

    Fast also plans to collaborate more with manufacturers in other industries, including carmakers and building material producers. It and material maker Toray will set up a research facility in 2022 that will specialize in the circulation of apparel and new material development.

    Other apparel brands are moving in the same direction. Patagonia, a U.S.-based maker of outdoor clothing, intends to make its garments with all recycled materials by 2025. Swedish fast-fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz has a 2030 goal for all of its clothing to be made of either recycled or sustainably sourced materials.

    Compared with other brands, Fast’s target is relatively lackluster. “We’re putting our customers first and presenting this as the maximum number our brand can commit to,” Yanai said. “We do not consider our target low.

    “From now on, people will evaluate what kind of responsibility each brand is trying to fulfill after selling clothes.”

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  • Uniqlo’s Beijing global flagship store opens doors

    Uniqlo’s Beijing global flagship store opens doors

    Global apparel retailer UNIQLO today announces that UNIQLO BEIJING SANLITUN Global Flagship Store will open on Saturday, November 6. The company’s third global flagship store to open in Mainland China and the first in Beijing, the new store will engage with Chinese traditions and society, incorporating technology, art, culture, creativity, and sustainability to create China’s first in-store curated LifeWear experience. UNIQLO will also feature a preview of the new store at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) 2021, taking place in Shanghai from November 5 to 10.

    “Over the past nearly 30 years, UNIQLO has grown together with our customers and partners in China. The UNIQLO BEIJING SANLITUN Global Flagship Store, our first global flagship store in Beijing, is the latest achievement of this relationship,” said Tadashi Yanai, UNIQLO Founder and Chairman, President & CEO of the Fast Retailing Group. “We are very pleased to be offering customers in Beijing with the ever-evolving concept of LifeWear that meets the daily lifestyle needs of people everywhere. The new Beijing store is an important step in our vision to become a truly global digital consumer retailing company,” he added.

    The new UNIQLO BEIJING SANLITUN Global Flagship Store will provide customers inventive and unique shopping experiences through installations conveying the functionality of representative UNIQLO products, art displays, and Mainland China’s first UNIQLO FLOWER, which offers fresh flowers and potted plants as another way to brighten up the lives of everyone.

    As an extension of the UNIQLO Miao Embroidery Project – a sustainability initiative created to preserve the traditional embroidery techniques of the Miao people that helps ensure important cultural traditions are not lost – a huge Miao embroidery titled “Life and Growth in Nature” will be showcased for the first time at the store. The one-square-meter work created by Students from Tsinghua University in Beijing and Miao embroiderers expresses humanity’s desire to live sustainably for the benefit of nature and future generations.

    The new store features Beijing’s first special UT floor, where a range of popular global contents express the power of pop culture and creativity through t-shirts and other items, as well as Beijing’s first UTme! customization workshop, where customers can design their own UT using thousands of specially designed contents, including Chinese-style Universal Studios and Disney motifs, and Chinese-calligraphy-themed patterns.

    UNIQLO will also debut “New Culture Style,” the first UT collection created in collaboration with Chinese artist Lao Shu (real name Liu Shuyong), who specializes in depicting contemporary life with ink painting. Three dedicated artworks have been created for the new collection – “Genuine Affection,” “Benevolent Love,” and “Beautiful Thing” – to capture the traditional Asian aesthetic and philosophy of truth, virtue and beauty in this special collaboration.

    As a global flagship store, UNIQLO BEIJING SANLITUN will carry the full lineup of UNIQLO LifeWear, including Uniqlo U and such 2021 fall/winter collaboration collections as “UNIQLO and White Mountaineering”. The store will also carry limited-edition fleece available in 11 colors for the opening, as well as the Premium Cashmere Collection, seasonal essentials made from 100% cashmere to provide unparalleled softness and warmth.

    UNIQLO opened its first store in China in September 2002, and currently the company is operating nearly 850 retail locations throughout the mainland. Participating in the China International Import Expo (CIIE) for the second year, UNIQLO will demonstrate its commitment to the Chinese market and showcase innovative apparel created through the Art and Science of LifeWear at its 1,000-square meter “Tomorrow Wonderland.”

  • Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing forecasts profit recovery as pandemic abates

    Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing forecasts profit recovery as pandemic abates

    Japan’s Fast Retailing expects continued recovery in sales and profits in the year to August 2022 as the pandemic abates, the owner of clothing brand Uniqlo said on Thursday.

    The company said it expects operating profit to climb 8.4% to 270 billion yen ($2.4 billion) in fiscal 2021-22.

    For the year ended in August, it reported 249 billion yen in operating profit, topping the 245.7 billion forecast in a Refinitiv poll of 13 analysts.

    “Vaccinations are being carried out all over the world to control the spread of the disease, and the economy is growing in earnest,” chief executive Tadashi Yanai told reporters.

    Fast Retailing expects the pandemic will still drag on results in the first half of the fiscal year but will then recover in the second half as shopping habits return to normal.

    The company said it expects some negative effects from production or logistic delays, problems that have plagued major clothiers and their global supply lines in recent months.

    In September, Fast Retailing said The company said in late September that its clothing releases will be delayed due to COVID-19 lockdowns at partner factories in Vietnam some clothing releases would be delayed due to pandemic-related lockdowns at partner factories in Vietnam.

    That followed crises in Myanmar and China that upset supply lines and created reputational challenges.

    Fast Retailing halted operations at some partner facilities in Myanmar as a military coup led to social unrest and lockdowns. In China, the company and other foreign brands faced a customer backlash over criticisms of alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang province.

    Fast Retailing operates about 800 Uniqlo stores on the Chinese mainland, about the same number as in Japan.

    Yanai said the company carried out regular inspections of production sites and had built up a team to improve monitoring of how it gets raw materials for its clothes.

    “In the future, we will ensure a higher level of traceability of the materials we procure, including the farmers who produce the raw goods,” Yanai said.

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  • Uniqlo takes over Superdry’s London flagship

    Uniqlo takes over Superdry’s London flagship

    The parent company of Uniqlo, Fast Retailing Group has signed a letting for the former Superdry store on Regent Street.

    The store is expected to sell a mixture of both Theory and Uniqlo clothing.

    The contemporary fashion brand Theory launched in New York in 1997 and at the end of February 2021, it holds 436 stores worldwide.

    The Japanese fashion retailer’s other brands, including US-based denim brand J Brand, could also be sold in the store, property sources said.

    The store is expected to open later this year although the exact date is not yet known.

    Last month Superdry closed the doors to its Regent Street flagship store, which first opened in 2011.

    The retailer is currently considering several locations in the capital, including Forever 21’s former flagship store on Oxford Street, which was forced to closed last year after the retailer filed for administration in the UK.

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  • Temples inspire design of Uniqlo’s latest Tokyo retail store

    Temples inspire design of Uniqlo’s latest Tokyo retail store

    Uniqlo opened the doors of its newest large-format store on Friday, in the historic and culturally significant neighborhood of Asakusa. The store follows the concept of “our neighborhood” and aims to support the area’s local businesses, residents, and artisans.

    With a selling area of more than 21,000 square feet, Uniqlo Asakusa also boasts one of the longest continuous store windows of any Uniqlo store. It is located in the heart of Asakusa, which prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was bustling with international tourists on any day of the week. The area is known for its historic pedestrian lanes lined with souvenir stores and leading up to Senso-ji, Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple and one of its most significant. It is also a district that hosts the workshops and stores of many traditional craftspeople, some of whom Uniqlo featured in various ways inside the store.

    The double-level main entrance to the store is dominated by a giant paper and wooden lantern, which was created by a local workshop and hand-painted with the Uniqlo logo. At nearly six feet per side, it was both the largest lantern the shop had ever created, as well as the first cubic one. In addition, signage used throughout the store was inspired by “senjafuda” votive strips that are a common sight at temples and shrines across Japan.

    Uniqlo also collaborated with local businesses on various products to mark the opening of the store. For example, small ceramic plates designed with traditional snack-maker Asakusa Tokiwado will be available for sale in limited quantities, while original teacups will be given to the first 3,000 customers to spend 5,000 yen or more during the opening weekend. There are also original UTme! stamps that are only available at the Asakusa store to use in customizing T-shirts and tote bags.

    Throughout the store, Uniqlo has highlighted products from local shops, from stationery to skateboards, encouraging customers to explore the neighborhood in order to purchase such items and discover others. Other features of the store include a larger than usual space where customers can try on and order tailor-made items, areas highlighting sustainability and fitting rooms that feature artworks by a local artist, and photographs of Asakusa from the past and present.

  • Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing lifts full-year profit outlook

    Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing lifts full-year profit outlook

    Japan’s Fast Retailing, the owner of clothing brand Uniqlo, on Thursday reported a 23 percent jump in half-yearly operating profit and raised its full-year profit estimate.

    The company has been among the most resilient retailers during the COVID-19 pandemic, as Uniqlo’s focus on China and Japan helped it escape the worst of the downturn that hit the United States and Europe. Fast Retailing said operating profit was 168 billion yen ($1.53 billion) in the six months through February, against 136.7 billion yen a year earlier.

    The company raised its full-year operating profit forecast to 255 billion yen from 245 billion yen. The average estimate in a Refinitiv poll of 15 analysts was 262.9 billion yen. During the pandemic, Uniqlo briskly sold masks and saw strong demand for its stay-at-home jogging pants and other comfortable apparel.

    However, the company is now dealing with crises in Myanmar and China that are upsetting its supply chain and one of its most important foreign markets.

    Fires broke out at two of Fast Retailing’s partner factories in Myanmar last month amid unrest that followed a military coup. The company has had to halt operations at some facilities in the country due to martial law conditions.

    In China, the company and other Western brands are facing a backlash over criticisms of alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang province. Fast Retailing operates about 800 Uniqlo stores on the mainland, about the same number as its home market of Japan.

    Western brands including H&M, Burberry, Nike and Adidas have been hit by consumer boycotts in China for raising concerns about forced labor in Xinjiang, a major producer of cotton. Five brand ambassadors for Fast Retailing in China have quit amid the backlash.

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