The Japanese operator of the Uniqlo casual chain said yesterday it would open a new flagship store in Shanghai, its biggest in the world, as it targets a seven-fold increase in sales by 2020.
Fast Retailing, one of the few Japanese firms to have bucked the global economic downturn with rising profits, will also seek takeovers to boost its global presence, president Tadashi Yanai said.
The group, which owns 772 Uniqlo outlets in Japan and 90 overseas, will open its first Moscow shop and the flagship store in Shanghai next spring, said Yanai, Japan’s richest person, according to Forbes magazine.
It aims to expand its worldwide network to 4,000 stores within a decade, with overseas operations accounting for three-quarters of its revenue, he told a news conference to outline the group’s business strategy.
“It is indispensable for us to seek acquisitions to achieve growth in the United States and Europe,” Yanai said.
The firm is chasing sales of ¥5 trillion (US$54 billion) by 2020, up from the ¥682 billion it expects in this business year to August.
The group is looking to grow its operations overseas as its domestic market matures and shrinks because of a rapidly graying population.
The group, which also owns the New York-originated Theory fashion label and French brand Comptoir des Cotonniers, said it could secure more than ¥400 billion for acquisitions.
Last year it lost out in a bidding war to buy upscale US department store Barneys New York.
Fast Retailing is pitting itself against global rivals such as US-based Gap Inc, Sweden’s Hennes & Mauritz and the Spanish Zara brand.
It has managed to shift its image from a cheap no-frills brand to one offering “high-tech” fabric such as its iconic “Heat Tech” sweaters, while collaborating with world-class designers such as Jil Sander and Alexander Wang.
The 60-year-old Yanai, who has said he will step down as head when he turns 65, said the company plans to ride the coat-tails of fast-growing Asian markets, opening new stores in India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and China.
He expects Uniqlo’s sales to eventually reach ¥1 trillion in China, where it will open about 100 shops each year with a goal of having as many as 1,000 large-scale stores.
Yanai, who transformed his father’s tiny clothing store in southern Hiroshima into one of the world’s biggest retailers, said he plans to set up schools aiming to groom future managers, including his successor.
Taiwan moved clear of Mexico to be the only country at No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Baseball World Rankings. Meanwhile, draft bills to set up a ministry of sports were approved at a joint session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. After previously being tied with Mexico for second on 4,118 points, Taiwan moved clear on 5,498 points after they defeated Japan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 tournament on Sunday. Mexico (4,729) dropped to fourth, behind Venezuela (4,846), who finished fourth at the tournament. Taiwan narrowed the gap to first-placed Japan to 1,368 points from 1,638, WBSC
GLOBAL SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the motion highlighted the improper exclusion of Taiwan from international discussion and cooperative mechanisms Taiwan yesterday thanked the British parliament for passing a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, making it the latest body to reject China’s interpretation of the resolution. The House of Commons on Thursday debated the international status of Taiwan and unanimously passed a pro-Taiwan motion stating that the House “notes that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the political status of Taiwan or establish PRC [People’s Republic of China] sovereignty over Taiwan and is silent both on the status of Taiwan in the UN and on Taiwanese participation in UN agencies.” British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Parliamentary
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill. “To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation. “With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” he
HIGH ALERT: The armed forces are watching for a potential military drill by China in response to the president’s trip, with the air force yesterday conducting an exercise President William Lai (賴清德) is to make stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during his seven-day trip to the South Pacific, his first official visit since taking office in May, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Lai, accompanied by a delegation, is scheduled to depart for the South Pacific on a chartered flight at 4:30pm tomorrow, stopping first in Hawaii for a two-night layover before traveling to the Marshall Islands, an office official said. After wrapping up his visits to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the president is to transit through Guam, spending a night there before flying to Palau,
RSS