As Uniqlo’s owner Fast Retailing reiterates its forecast for a third year of record profits, thanks to an expansion into North America and Europe, the RetailX Global Elite Top1000 report tracks Uniqlo’s ambitions to be number one.
Fashion company Uniqlo is the highest ranking business in the RetailX Global 1000 not to have been founded in Europe or the US. The Japanese company is the core brand of Fast Retailing, a group that also operates Gu, Theory, Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse tam.tam.
In its latest financial year, Uniqlo’s sales reached approximately $14.14bn (¥1.92 trillion) from its online operations and 3,562 stores in 25 countries. Fast Retailing group total was only slightly higher at $16.94bn (¥2.3 trillion) such is the heft the brand has within the group. Japan accounts for around 40% of Uniqlo’s sales, with men’s and womenswear selling equally well in the country. International sales made up 43.6% of net sales in 2011.
Store numbers have been increasing steadily over the past decade with sales rising in all but the last two years. While the majority are in Japan, it also operates internationally, with the majority of bricks-and-mortar stores being in China. Europe and North America have a smaller number of stores than in other markets, but offer a greater ratio of online sales.
In FY2021, online sales accounted for approximately 18% of total sales. Geographically, online sales accounted for roughly 20% of total sales in the Greater China region, 10% in South Asia, Southeast Asia & Oceania, 30% in Europe and 40% in North America.
Fast Retailing’s ceo Tadashi Yanai has ambitions to increase the business outside of Asia transforming Uniqlo into the “No 1 brand around the world”. Initially, this will see the company accelerating the pace of new store openings in areas that it sees as growth centres for the global economy, namely mainland China, Southeast Asia and India. Uniqlo will also “significantly expand” its operations in the US and Europe. This expansion is supported by work carried out internally to better integrate regional offices, such as the US head office, within global operations.
The Uniqlo company spotlight is one of 10 10 exclusive profiles in the RetailX Global Elite Top1000 report. It also includes adidas, AliExpress, Carrefour, H&M and Ikea.
The 48 page report is full of RetailX analysis, market-leading research and expert insight into the global retail market. It also looks at how sustainability has been moving up the corporate agenda and why next-day delivery is still growing.
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