albert Chan
Fast Retailing
Sector: Apparel specialty retail Countries of operation: China, Japan, the UK, the US and 21 other countries around the world Key product categories: Accessories, apparel and footwear Annual Metrics [caption id="attachment_148716" align="aligncenter" width="699"]
*Trailing twelve months ended on February 28, 2022 Fiscal year ends on August 31 of the same calendar year [/caption] Summary Formerly known as Ogori Shoji Co., Fast Retailing is a Japanese apparel retailer that operates internationally through its Uniqlo, Global Brands and GU segments. Founded in 1963 and headquartered in Yamaguchi, the company designs, manufactures and retails its products, which span accessories, apparel and footwear. It sells online and in stores across its brands, which include Comptoir des Cotonniers, GU, J Brand, PLST, Princesse tam.tam, Theory and Uniqlo. It operates 3,528 stores as of February 28, 2022. Company Analysis Coresight Research insight: Fast Retailing’s strategy is focused on international expansion. We see the Uniqlo International segment as a near-term sales growth driver for the company and expect the high-margin Greater China and Southeast Asia markets to drive profit growth. The company liaises with advanced-technology firms in each region to optimize its operations and capitalizes social media to drive engagement. Furthermore, the global casualization trend is likely to correlate with organic sales growth for the company’s brands over the next couple of years. However, the retailer continues to face intense competition from apparel rivals, such as Topsports International and Semir Group, and notable challenges in ensuring quality and efficiency in its global supply chain amid high freight costs across the globe.
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- More than double its revenues from Greater China to ¥1.0 trillion ($9.0 billion) in the near future, from ¥532.2 billion ($4.8 billion) in fiscal 2021.
- Aim to open 100 new stores each year in Greater China in the medium-term.
- Consolidate Uniqlo’s position as the leading apparel brand in Greater China and enable it to become a leading brand globally.
- Open large-format stores in Europe’s key cities—such as recent opening of global flagship store in London in spring 2022.
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by 90% by fiscal 2030, compared to fiscal 2019.
- Achieve 100% sourcing of renewable electricity by fiscal 2030.
- Substitute about 50% of its total materials with recycled materials by fiscal 2030.
- Promote the concept of “LifeWear,” where the company not only creates apparel as products but investigates deeply into manufacturing processes and sales methods.
- Strengthen its e-commerce organizational structure by expanding payment and delivery capabilities, and offering buy online, pick up in store services.
- Increase e-commerce as a percentage of sales to 30% in the near future, from 10% in fiscal 2021.
- Expand its online-to-offline (O2O) services to integrate its e-commerce network and physical store.
- Embed radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags in all products sold by Fast Retailing brands worldwide.
- Continue to introduce self-checkout machines in stores.
- Conduct promotional campaigns each season for core product ranges in Uniqlo.
- Advertise the unique features of key products through multimedia channels including email and social media
- Post information about new products and events on social media, focusing on video content.
- Use customer data collected from its website and mobile app to offer personalization. For instance, the company’s StyleHint app enables shoppers to check out different looks from around the world and collect new style ideas. The app uses image analysis technology to select and suggest Uniqlo or GU products to users.
- Adjust product ranges according to local markets and customer feedback.
Company Developments
| Date | Development |
| April 26, 2022 | Fast Retailing, in collaboration with Italian luxury fashion brand Marni, announces the launch of a new collection on May 20. The new collection features several clothing categories, including coats, pajamas, skirts, jackets, swim shorts and pants. |
| April 21, 2022 | Fast Retailing opens a flagship store in London’s Regent Street, which the retailer claims as its “most significant store” to date. The 1,900 square meters store emphasizes Fast Retailing’s sustainability initiatives, including Re-Uniqlo circular program that uses repair and recycle bins. |
| April 7, 2022 | Fast Retailing announces that it will renovate and reopen MINA TENJIN, a commercial facility managed by the company in the Tenjin district of Fukuoka, Japan, in spring 2023. |
| March 10, 2022 | Fast Retailing temporarily suspends its operations in Russia amid Russia-Ukraine war tensions. |
| March 4, 2022 | Fast Retailing announces a donation of $10 million to the United Nation Refugee Agency that will be used to provide urgent assistance to affected populations in Ukraine amid the war with Russia. |
| February 24, 2022 | Fast Retailing renews its decade-long alliance with MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art) through a new digital series “Uniqlo Art for All” and product collaborations, including clothing and accessory lines inspired by artists in MoMA’s collection. |
| February 22, 2022 | Fast Retailing extends sponsorship agreement with Japan Tennis Association to keep supplying apparel and training wear to Japanese players in international team events in 2022. |
| January 19, 2022 | Fast Retailing renews its sponsorship commitment of the Uniqlo Wheelchair Tennis Tour for a further three years, through 2024. |
| November 11, 2021 | Fast Retailing Launches new collection of official apparel for Swedish National Team at the 2022 Winter Tournament. |
| November 6, 2021 | Fast Retailing opens its third Uniqlo global flagship store in Mainland China and the first in Beijing. The company noted that the new store will engage with Chinese traditions and society, incorporating technology and sustainability to create China’s first in-store curated LifeWear experience. |
| October 12, 2021 | Fast Retailing enters into an official supplier agreement with the Swedish Ski Association to support athletes and officials of Sweden team by offering competition apparel and LifeWear for training, travel and other aspects of daily living. |
| October 8, 2021 | Fast Retailing reopens its Mingyao Global Flagship Store under the new name Uniqlo Taipei Global Flagship Store. The sales area of the renovated store has expanded by more than one-third to about 3,500 square meters, making it the largest Uniqlo store in Taiwan. |
| September 28, 2021 | Fast Retailing signs the Microfibre 2030 Commitment, which aims to have 80% of member companies adopt research-based microfiber standards in their products and manufacturing processes by 2030 in order to appropriately manage the release of microfiber standards into the environment. |
| September 16, 2021 | Fast Retailing announces that Uniqlo has been named as official clothing retailer for the Laver Cup 2021 event held at Boston. Under the terms of the alliance, Uniqlo provides uniforms for all on-site staff, including chair umpires and ball kids. |
| September 15, 2021 | Uniqlo extends its partnership with Swedish Olympic and Paralympic Committees by two years, beyond the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. |
| August 4, 2021 | Fast Retailing announces a partnership with the premier Indian university IIT-Delhi to support Indian students with high potential who seek financial assistance. |
| July 7, 2021 | Uniqlo signs a partnership agreement with Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Enterprise to supply apparel to the players, officials and coaches of Japan’s national baseball team through May 2023. |
| June 23, 2021 | Fast Retailing announces that it has entered into a three-year global partnership with the UK’s Tate Modern museum. Under the terms of the alliance, Uniqlo and Tate Modern will jointly launch their first t-shirt collection in 2022. |
| May 25, 2021 | Fast Retailing commits INR 200 million ($3 million) for India’s Covid-19 relief efforts. |
| May 19, 2021 | Uniqlo unveils official sustainable clothing for Sweden’s athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympic event in the summer of 2021. |
| April 28, 2021 | Uniqlo is selected as the first national sponsor to supply casual and formal wear to two aquatic sports championship events in Japan in 2022: FINA World Championships Fukuoka and FINA World Championships Kyushu. |
| April 6, 2021 | Fast Retailing renovates its Ariake office in Japan, the global headquarters of GU, PLST and Uniqlo. The renovation includes development of one of Japan’s largest in-house production studios, mock versions of standard and large-sized Uniqlo stores and a new customer care center. The company expects these renovations to enhance its capabilities to utilize information globally to build new products and create activities that meet shopper needs. |
| March 22, 2021 | Uniqlo appoints Japan-based popular animated character Doraemon as its Global Sustainability Ambassador. |
| March 17, 2021 | Fast Retailing announces its entry into a partnership with Japan-based marketplace app Mercari to establish a secure environment for buying and selling Fast Retailing’s products. The partnership includes sharing product and launch information with Mercari. |
| March 2, 2021 | Uniqlo enters into a sponsorship agreement with Japan Tennis Association (JTA) to supply apparel to Japanese players in 2021 premier men’s and women’s international team tennis events. |
| February 2, 2021 | Fast Retailing issues a 2021 sustainability report that consolidates the company’s vision and initiatives toward becoming a sustainable organization. |
| January 29, 2021 | Uniqlo partners with French museum Musée du Louvre to launch men’s and women’s apparel featuring the Louvre’s artworks and designs. |
| November 12, 2020 | Fast Retailing emphasizes the importance of the business model for premium denim brand J Brand and shifts the direction toward direct distribution. |
| June 15, 2020 | Uniqlo launches its AIRism Mask in Japan, which is marketed as quick-drying and lightweight. |
| December 26, 2019 | Uniqlo announces plans to open its first store in Hanoi, Vietnam, in spring 2020. |
| November 13, 2019 | Fast Retailing announces strategic global partnership agreements with MUJIN Inc., a Japanese intelligent industrial robot controller manufacturer, and Exotec Solutions SAS, a French robotics solutions provider. |
| October 4, 2019 | Uniqlo opens its first store in India. |
| November 14, 2018 | Fast Retailing becomes a signatory to the UN Global Compact to foster responsible action among companies and organizations for sustainable growth. |
| October 27, 2018 | Fast Retailing acquires a 35% stake in Hanoi-based women’s fashion brand Elise, which has more than 100 stores across Vietnam. The acquisition marks Fast Retailing’s first significant move into Vietnam since it announced plans in September 2018 to launch its Uniqlo brand in Ho Chi Minh City. |
| October 25, 2018 | Fast Retailing develops a new washing process for jeans that reduces water use by up to 99%, with an average of more than 90%. The technology is in place for the 2018 fall/winter season Uniqlo Men’s Regular Fit Jeans and J Brand’s Sustainable Capsule Collection. |
| October 11, 2018 | Fast Retailing upgrades its existing warehouse in Tokyo’s Ariake district with an automated system created in partnership with material handling provider Daifuku. The system enables Uniqlo to operate the warehouse 24 hours a day and reduce staff numbers by 90%. |
- Tadashi Yanai—Chairman, President, CEO and Founder
- John Jay—President of Global Creative
- Noriaki Koyama—Head of CEO Office
- Takeshi Okazaki—Group Senior Executive Officer
- Fuminori Adachi—Group Executive Officer
Source: Company reports