Uniqlo’s parent company, Fast Retailing, has revealed plans to evolve into an “unprecedented digital consumer retailing business”, as it reported a 16.5% increase in revenues.
In the six months ended February 2023, the fashion giant reported operating profit was ¥220 billion (£1.45 billion), against ¥189 billion (£1.13 billion) a year earlier.
International sales saw a 27.3% jump in the period to ¥755.2 billion (£4.53 billion), as operating profit increased by 20.4% to ¥122.6 billion (£700 million)
In a statement, Fast Retailing attributed its “strong” sales to the rapid changes in clothing demand over the past few years in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and rising inflation.
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It added: “Our aggressive efforts to consistently expand business by strengthening our branding and pursuing community-based commercial operations also supported the segment’s strong first-half results.”
According to Fast Retailing it also aims to advance Uniqlo’s digital consumer retailing format by working with global headquarters to “establish a supply chain, based on customer feedback received in-store and sales information, that enables customers to buy what they want, when they want.”
The company also attributed the dip in revenue and a sharp fall in profits in the first half of fiscal 2023 in its Greater China arm of the business to the “heavy impact” of Covid-19 in the first quarter.
“Sales did start to recover in January, resulting in a slight decline in second-quarter revenue and a sharp increase in second-quarter profit, so overall performance is now on a recovery track,” it said.
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