Casual fashion brand Uniqlo plans to enter India soon

Feb 18, 2011

Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo chain of casual clothing aims to enter the Indian market “as soon as possible” to tap faster-growing economies to bolster sales, reports Bloomberg.

“We want to study details of the agreement between Japan and India right away,” Fast Retailing president Tadashi Yanai said in Tokyo on Thursday, referring to the trade accord that the two nations signed on Wednesday. “We want to enter India as soon as possible.”

Fast Retailing, Asia’s largest clothing chain, plans to expand the number of Uniqlo stores overseas in an effort to boost sales six-fold to 5 trillion yen ($60 billion) by 2020. Making Uniqlo’s 3,990 yen jeans available in India, where the government predicts economic growth of 8.6 per cent this year, may help Fast Retailing stem its slowest sales growth in more than seven years.

“The faster they open stores in India the better,” said Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo. “It will give Uniqlo a head start to building its brand,” Nagahama added.

Separately, Uniqlo said that it aims to sell more than 10 million pairs of chino and cargo pants this spring and summer. Fast Retailing is returning its focus to functional wear after attempts to compete in trendy apparel with Inditex’s Zara and Hennes & Mauritz’’s H&M brands eroded sales growth.

Sales at Yamaguchi, Japan-based Fast Retailing gained 5 per cent in the second half ended August 31, the smallest increase since at least 2003, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

India and Japan signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that will abolish tariffs on 94 per cent of trade over 10 years.

The accord gives companies in Japan greater access to India as China’s presence in the region increases.