Uniqlo operator ramps up European expansion

The Uniqlo flagship store located next to the historic theater building, the Paris Opera Garnier, has become a popular Paris landmark since its renovation and reopening last year. (Uniqlo)

Uniqlo is ramping up its expansion into Europe, according to the brand‘s owner, Japan’s Fast Retailing Co.

The company has around 3,600 stores globally, with annual sales totaling 7 trillion won ($20 billion) in 2023, according to Fast Retailing.

The Japanese brand experienced a slump in South Korean sales after a nationwide boycott on Japanese goods in 2019 but has since bounced back during the pandemic, with sales of nearly 1 trillion won in 2023.

Despite its shift toward Europe, Uniqlo‘s market share in the region remains low, it had 2,000 stores in South Korea, Japan, and China but only 68 in Europe by the end of 2023, which accounts for just 8.25 percent of its global sales.

In response, Uniqlo hired British fashion designer Clare Waight Keller as its creative director in September and has been collaborating with prominent European designers such as Christophe Lemaire and Jonathan Anderson. The brand renovated its flagship store near the iconic Opéra Garnier in Paris, the first Uniqlo store in France, in 2023.

Uniqlo is targeting European consumers with affordable prices and high quality. The brand also lives up to its slogan, “the most advanced clothes,” made possible via a long-standing collaboration with Japanese advanced materials manufacturer Toray Industries, Inc.

The duo has been working together on material development since 1999. “We collaborate on every step in production,” Fast Retailing President Tadashi Yanai said, emphasizing that “There is no other partnership like ours in the world.”