131 % turnover growth
Uniqlo Europe has had an excellent fiscal year 2014 (which ended on 31 August), as its official numbers at the British trade register show. The Japanese fashion chain managed a 131 % turnover increase to 203 million euro, thanks to new flagship stores in Berlin, Paris and Marseille. The merger of its British and French branches, which had worked separately up until then, also helped consolidate the numbers. The group also launched its web shop in 18 different European countries last year.
This resulted in its first European profit, which reached 2.2 million euro, a major improvement compared to the 3.4 million euro loss the year before.
Expansion and … men
The Japanese company is fully focused on expansion in the current fiscal year: it added a store in Strasbourg in September and another one in Paris in October, while it will open a store in Antwerp later this year. It also seems its Spanish conquest has begun.
Uniqlo also wants to attract an increasing number of male customers: “Its men-oriented clothing lines are not something on the side, but a priority”, Steven Sare (chief merchandising) told Business Insider. “Half of our customers are male, while our competitors mostly attract women”.
