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More than ever, consumers want value for money: that is good news for Uniqlo‘s parent company Fast Retailing. The Japanese fashion retailer has had another record year and is looking ahead with confidence.
Value over luxury
Fast Retailing’s sales improved by 20.2 % last financial year to the equivalent of 17.7 billion euros, while operating profit grew even by 28.2 %. In doing so, the company exceeded all expectations. International sales rose 28.5 % and now account for more than 50 % of sales and 60 % of profits.
According to CEO and founder Tadashi Yanai, the world has changed dramatically after the COVID pandemic as consumers now place more importance on value over luxury. “People are looking to reduce surplus things and frills and live simply in their own way”, Reuters quotes the CEO. As Uniqlo is known for its affordable basics, this is an asset now that shoppers are more price-conscious than ever.
Fast Retailing will continue to focus on expansion: the retailer plans to open eighty shops a year in ‘Greater China’ (which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan), twenty in North America and ten in Europe. China is already Uniqlo’s biggest market, with 930 shops – more than on its Japanese home market. In Europe, Uniqlo currently has some seventy shops, as does North America.
