UNIQLO Business Strategy

NING PAN
Group Senior Executive Officer,
FAST RETAILING CO., LTD.

Q. What are your current business reforms, and what inspired them?
In FY2025, UNIQLO Greater China revenue totaled ¥650.2 billion (−4.0% year on year) and business profit ¥89.9 billion (−12.5%). Ever since we entered this region in 2002, mass store openings and efficient store management have generated strong overall growth. In the Mainland China market, while the local economy and business environment have dampened our business performance, we are now pursuing a structural transition from chain store management to independent store management to regain our strong growth trajectory.
We are focusing on four new pillars. The first, achieving business that creates value, aims to maximize sales and optimize discount rates through strategic marketing and store displays that showcase UNIQLO functionality and value. The second, developing product lineups tailored to regional needs, encourages flexible production systems by carefully timing the introduction of strong selling items and optimizing inventory while capitalizing on our regional manufacturer-retailer position. The third, improving store quality, has boosted scrap-and-build store sales numbers by 50% and helped create hugely successful flagship stores in Wuhan, Chengdu, and Changsha. The fourth focuses on strengthening management talent. While our pool of amazing people in Mainland China is steadily expanding, in order to accelerate local talent development, we are also dispatching business and store managers from Japan with a deep understanding of independent store management principles. These new approaches are starting to generate positive results, and we are determined to boost growth further in FY2026.

Q. What positive results are you seeing?
Independent store management nurtures deeper understanding of the needs of individual stores and communities, and closer alignment with customer needs. Product mixes have steadily improved since Spring Summer 2025, when we started reflecting feedback from store managers and customers in individual store sales plans. We have optimized inventory by frequently adjusting production in line with sales trends.
Opening flagship stores and promoting our products in local media is also having a positive impact. Our social media posts and constant flow of popular content with young people have enhanced appreciation of UNIQLO product value and price and greatly increased sales of Linen Shirts, UV Protection Parkas, Barrel Leg Jeans, and other items. More people under 30 are using the UNIQLO app.
All these initiatives are boosting our credibility with customers. In Spring Summer 2025, UNIQLO UV protection items were praised for their exceptional functionality and quality in a CCTV.com feature, and UNIQLO was named a Top Brands for the 14th consecutive year in a consumer survey conducted by CBN YiMagazine, one of Mainland China's most influential publications. We will keep striving to be the region's most essential brand.

UNIQLO Changsha Heiwado store

Q. How have you continued to generate strong results in a constantly changing business environment?
UNIQLO North America outstripped expectations in FY2025, generating significantly increased revenue of ¥271.1 billion (+24.5%) and business profit of ¥44.2 billion (+35.1%). Strong branding and communication of our product value are boosting customer support for and trust in UNIQLO.
Our Art and Science of LifeWear event, held at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in September 2025 to mark UNIQLO's 20th anniversary in the USA, drew media attention by showcasing UNIQLO's philosophy, history, and advanced technology. The newly refurbished sales floor at the New York Fifth Avenue flagship store ensures our great styling options and product value instantly stand out. We plan to replicate this style in all future stores. The customer enthusiasm in our North America stores and positive response to new store displays fill me with confidence about our future growth.
Our enhanced branding and promotion of independent store management are earning UNIQLO a reputation as a high-quality, essential, unique, and increasingly competitive brand. To achieve sustainable growth, we will undertake internal initiatives, developing products that effectively balance value and price, refining sales plans, and improving productivity while flexibly addressing changing external factors such as tariffs and trends in the broader economy.

DAISUKE TSUKAGOSHI
Board of Director,
Group Senior Executive Officer,
and COO, FAST RETAILING CO., LTD.
Executive Director, President, and COO,
UNIQLO CO., LTD.
CEO, UNIQLO North America

Q. How do you intend to reach your \1 trillion sales target?
We are nearing our \300 billion North America sales target, originally set for FY2027, as we advance toward our goal of \1 trillion in yearly sales. With the brand's visibility on the rise, I want to attract new UNIQLO fans at a faster pace. New York and Los Angeles are key fashion hubs. To extend the reach of LifeWear, we will develop products in the USA that appeal to customers worldwide, and integrate our marketing, sales floors, and e-commerce to better convey information. We will accelerate the opening of flagships and other stores in high-quality shopping malls primarily on the East Coast and West Coast, while also opening stores in untapped cities with strong online sales. In 2026, we plan to open new flagship stores in major cities including New York, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco. We will also pursue activities that benefit both ourselves and the local community. To drive these initiatives, we will build an organization operated by elite teams that exhibit strong teamwork, ambition, and passion.

UNIQLO New York Fifth Avenue store (global flagship store)

TAKU MORIKAWA
CEO, UNIQLO Europe
Group Senior Executive Officer,
FAST RETAILING CO., LTD.

Q. What is driving continuing strong sales and profit growth in Europe?
Sales have increased by 30-50% each year since FY2022. FY2025 again saw impressive growth, with sales reaching \369.5 billion (+33.6% year on year) and business profit totaling \54.2 billion (+23.7%).
Among various contributing factors, the most important was rising brand visibility driven by flagship store openings. To effectively showcase UNIQLO, we open flagship stores in prime locations where we can offer products and services to many customers and deepen brand affinity.
Another factor was our focus on women's wear. Women's wear typically accounts for about 70% of sales for competing European brands, but that proportion used to be only 40% at UNIQLO. European shopper feedback revealed they wanted more dresses, skirts, and so on. We strengthened the development and marketing of these items through the London R&D Center and expanded women's wear to approximately 50% of total sales.
In addition, high praise for core UNIQLO items has boosted the number of loyal customers. Boosting our sales every year are wider color ranges and stylish adjustments to core items such as linen, cashmere, T-shirts, and down. Strong sales of hit items including BLOCKTECH, UT, Wide Pants, and the Round Mini Shoulder Bag have boosted the sales contribution from customers under 30 to roughly 35%, making UNIQLO one of the most popular brands among young people. Enthusiasm for LifeWear among young people is very encouraging.

Q. What do you focus on when opening flagship stores?
The goal in opening a flagship store is not simply to boost overall store numbers. To justify opening a new UNIQLO store, we need to have reasons that are meaningful not just to us but also the local community. Naturally, we focus on finding prime locations that customers from all over the world can visit easily and on securing sufficient sales space to showcase our products and corporate values. However, it is even more important to understand the local significance of and affection for the historical buildings where we create our stores. And we look into how we might collaborate with property owners who, like us, want a UNIQLO store opening to help breathe new life into the local community. Based on those parameters, there are still many places in Europe where we could open a flagship store, so I will continue to actively promote that process.

Q. What initiatives are you pursuing to achieve your ¥1 trillion sales target?
Local customers appreciate our core products, but we haven't fully met their expectations. There is room to expand our women's and kids' ranges, and UNIQLO's functional items have not fully penetrated the market.
We will build on our success with the Bra Top range by proposing new products whose features serve lifestyle needs and promise to sell well worldwide. We will continue our regional flagship strategy while also opening stores in locations with unique characteristics. The Annecy store in France is one example. While sparsely populated, the area boasts a thriving ski resort and the UNIQLO store was welcomed because it serves local customers' needs.
We are leveraging Ariake Project business optimizations, including logistical improvements, to shorten delivery times from production sites to Europe. In spring 2025 in the Netherlands, we opened UNIQLO's largest automated warehouse. We plan to enhance our warehousing framework to keep pace with rapid local business expansion.
Finally, talent development is vital. We are making progress in Europe on appointing people with strong local knowledge. Four of our seven Europe COOs are from Europe. We are also offering the next generation of corporate leaders systematic growth opportunities, including appointing young employees as flagship store managers.

UNIQLO Meir store (Belgium)