Last Updated: 2025.05.09
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The Year for New Challenges
For Fast Retailing, this is the year for taking bold and innovative steps to become a truly global brand. Around the world, understanding and support for our LifeWear clothing is increasing, and we are now in a solid position to steadily increase our global earnings. However, the real challenge is still ahead in our goal of becoming the world's top brand. To move to the next stage of growth, we must boldly review all previous practices and embark on new challenges from scratch, while remaining true to our fundamental customer-centric philosophy.
In the first half of fiscal 2025, from September 2024 through February 2025, Fast Retailing reported a new record performance, with revenue increasing by 12.0% year on year to 1.7901 trillion yen and operating profit expanding by 18.3% to 304.2 billion yen. UNIQLO operations in Japan, Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe are all generating significant increases in revenue and profit, and are consistently expanding. Meanwhile, UNIQLO Mainland China and our GU casualwear brand reported a decline in first-half profits. Both operations are currently implementing transformative measures to move onto the next stage of growth.
To date, UNIQLO Mainland China has been able to expand business through a chain store development approach. Going forward, we will be focusing much more closely on strengthening the principle of independent store management. The Mainland China market covers a vast land mass with large regional variations in climates, lifestyles, and customs, so each store must genuinely engage with their customers in order to offer the product mixes that local customers really want and tailor sales floor displays accordingly.
GU has the same growth potential as UNIQLO. To establish a solid brand position, we must further clarify the GU brand value. We intend to inject management resources from across the Fast Retailing Group into GU to enhance its management structures. There are considerable number of issues that need to be addressed but, if we tackle each issue head on, determined to find a solution for every single issue, and commit to taking on new challenges, GU has the potential to grow to a much greater degree.
The ultimate purpose of our commercial operations is to make society better through our business. In recent years, the international community has faced multiple critical situations, including bilateral political confrontation and conflict. Despite these difficulties, I remain convinced that the world economy will continue to integrate, and that the international community can achieve greater peace and prosperity. Fast Retailing will strive to make the world a better place by conducting business that is truly useful to customers all over the world. We will continue to take on challenges, with a firm belief in the value that business can create.
May, 2025
Tadashi Yanai
Chairman, President and CEO
