Japan's Uniqlo to Open 80-100 China Stores Each Year as Revival Outstrips Expectations

[TaiShang]

Uniqlo to Open 80-100 China Stores Each Year as Revival Outstrips Expectations

Pan Yinru

(Yicai Global) Nov. 10 -- Japanese apparel giant Uniqlo has logged a better-than-expected recovery in China this year as sales resurged to year-ago levels from May onward. The casual clothier plans to start up at least 80 to 100 stores a year in the country, Wu Pinhui, chief marketing officer for Uniqlo in the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, told Yicai Global in an interview at the 3rd China International Import Expo yesterday.

The number of Uniqlo stores hit 767 in China at the end of August, for the first time surpassing the number of its direct-sale stores in Japan at 764, data show. It opened 44 new venues in the country from June to last month, and its total number of outlets topped 800, with many new shops popping up in third- and fourth-tier cities, according to Wu’s data.

Japan’s Fast Retailing, Uniqlo's parent company, plans to establish another 3,000 of the brand’s stores in China in future, with sales projected to hit JPY2 trillion (USD19.1 billion), Tadashi Yanai, chairman and chief executive of the Yamaguchi-based firm, previously said.

“We are still planning to open at least 80 to 100 stores per year at a very steady clip. Of course, this target will change with China's economic development, but infiltrating China's third- and fourth-tier cities is our constant goal,” Wu noted.

This is also the first time for Uniqlo to attend the five-day CIIE that concludes in Shanghai today. It set up a 1,500-square-meter exhibition area named the ‘Museum of Tomorrow,’ which is the largest of all booths in the expo's consumer products zone and is showcasing portable, waterproof and anti-static novelty gigantic down jackets, one-piece 3D knitted art, the breathing AIRism stretch fabric, and the windproof and waterproof Blocktech fabric.

Fast Retailing posted revenue of about JPY2 trillion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, down 12.3 percent on the year, per the firm’s financial report.

As its core business, Uniqlo's revenue was 82.2 percent of the company’s overall, while other brands contributed under 20 percent. Fast Retailing’s sales revenue from Japan accounted for 40.2 percent of the total in the fiscal year, while that from China made up 22.7 percent.

Fast Retailing to Open Up to 100 Uniqlo Stores a Year in China, Executive Says

www.yicaiglobal.com

***

So, this is how Japanese companies leave China market? Mr . Abe would have laughed hard.

 

[Suika]

Seems fine. It's good to not let geopolitical competition interfere with literally everything.

 

[TaiShang]

Japanese Firms Seek New Business Opportunities at CIIE

(Yicai Global) Nov. 8 -- Japanese enterprises are looking to tap into new business opportunities at the ongoing third China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai and optimistic about the prospects of the Chinese market after the pandemic is under control.

KAI Group, a Japanese company focusing on marketing of products such as cutlery, kitchen utensils and beauty care products, has brought its popular beauty care products including eyebrow razors to the CIIE.

"In the past three or four years, our sales in the Chinese market have been growing at an average annual rate of more than 30 percent," said Hiroaki Watanabe, general manager of Shanghai KAI Trade Co., Ltd.

"Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the sales volume of many of our products has increased rather than decreased, especially on e-commerce platforms."

He said KAI Group has participated in the expo for two consecutive years and they obviously felt the improvement of their brand recognition. The company has doubled its exhibition area this year.

"We are also warming up for the 'Double 11' online shopping spree," he said, adding that after taking part in the CIIE in 2019, the sales of their products increased by three times year on year during the shopping festival in the same year.

According to Hiroaki Watanabe, the company is trying to creat more personalized products of cutlery and kitchen utensils for the young group as part of efforts to find a new growth point in the Chinese market.

"We are confident that the Chinese market will continue to improve in the future," said Li Chaofan, manager of Commercial Department of Guangzhou Rinnai Co., Ltd., a joint venture invested by Japanese company Rinnai Corporation.

The company is participating in the expo for the third time.

"This year, we have brought new products such as wall-mounted stoves to meet the new demand for intellectualization and minimization in the Chinese market, and we believe they will be recognized by the Chinese customers," said Li.