# Uniqlo

Uniqlo Co., Ltd. (株式会社ユニクロ, Kabushiki-gaisha Yunikuro) (US: /ˈjuːnikloʊ/ YOO-nee-kloh; Japanese pronunciation:) is a Japanese casual wear designer and retailer. The company is a subsidiary of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. Clare Waight Keller is the creative director.

## History

Men's Shop OS was founded in Ube, Yamaguchi. It was rebranded as Ogori Shōji in Yamaguchi-shi in March 1949. On 2 June 1984, it opened a unisex casual wear store in Fukuro-machi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima named Unique Clothing Warehouse. Initially, the brand was going to be registered as a shortened contraction of "unique clothing". In 1988, during administration work in Hong Kong for registering the brand, "C" was misread as "Q". Tadashi Yanai, the head of the family retail conglomerate, liked the error, and shortened the name to "Uniqlo" across Japan. In September 1991, the name of the company was changed from "Ogori Shōji" to "Fast Retailing". By April 1994 there were over 100 Uniqlo stores operating throughout Japan.
In 1997, Fast Retailing adopted a set of strategies from American retailer The Gap, known as "SPA" (for specialty-store/retailer of private label apparel), meaning that they would produce their own clothing and sell it exclusively. Uniqlo outsourced their clothing manufacturing to factories in China, where labour was cheap. Japan was in the depths of a recession at the time, and the low-cost goods proved popular. Their advertising campaigns, clothing quality and new retail layouts also proved fruitful.
In November 1998, it opened their first urban Uniqlo store in Tokyo's Harajuku district, and outlets soon spread to major cities throughout Japan. In 2001, sales turnover and gross profit reached a peak, with over 500 retail stores in Japan. When Uniqlo decided to expand overseas, it separated Uniqlo from the parent company, and established Fast Retailing (Jiangsu) Apparel Co., Ltd. in China. In 2002, their first Chinese Uniqlo outlet was opened in Shanghai, along with four overseas outlets in London and Basingstoke, England.
On 1 November 2005, Fast Retailing transferred the business related to clothing manufacturing and retailing to Sun Road Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary that operated golf courses through a company split (absorption-type split), and became a holding company. On the same day, Sun Road changed its name to Uniqlo Co., Ltd.
2005 saw more overseas expansion, with stores opening in the United States (New York City), Hong Kong (Tsim Sha Tsui) and South Korea (Seoul), their South Korean expansion being part of a joint venture with Lotte. By 2006, sales were $4 billion. By April 2007, the company had set a global sales goal of $10 billion and a ranking among the top five global retailers, joining Gap, H&M, Inditex and Limited Brands.
Fast Retailing signed a design consulting contract for Uniqlo products with fashion designer Jil Sander in March 2009. Sander was appointed creative director of the brand's menswear and womenswear.
On 2 September 2009, Fast Retailing announced that the company would target annual group sales of 5 trillion yen (approx. US$61.2 billion) and pretax profit from operations of 1 trillion yen (approx. US$12.2 billion) by 2020. This meant that the company was aiming to be the world's biggest specialty retailer of private label apparel. The company also aimed for a growth rate of 20% per year. The company's international business target included one trillion yen in China, one trillion in other Asian countries, and one trillion in Europe and the United States.
In 2023, Uniqlo accelerated its global expansion, opening its first store in Mumbai, India, and announcing its entry into the Brazilian market with a flagship store in São Paulo planned for 2024. By 2023, Uniqlo’s international revenue accounted for 55% of its global sales, surpassing domestic sales for the first time.

## Logo

* Former Uniqlo logo used from 1997, continued to be used alongside the current logo in Japan until 2009
* Current Uniqlo logo used since November 2006

## International operations

As of 30 November 2024, Fast Retailing claims to operate 2,541 Uniqlo stores.

### Australia

Uniqlo opened its first Australian store in Melbourne in April 2014. It expanded into Queensland the following year, with the introduction of two shops in Brisbane. As of November 2024, there are 39 stores in Australia.

### Belgium

The first Belgian Uniqlo store opened in October 2015 at Meir, Antwerp. There are 3 stores in Belgium as of November 2024.

### Canada

Uniqlo opened their first Canadian outlet at the Toronto Eaton Centre on 30 September 2016.
As of November 2024, there are 28 stores in Canada.

### China

Uniqlo entered the Chinese mainland in 2002. As of November 2024, there are 928 stores in China. "I think we can go for about 3,000 stores," Fast Retailing chief Tadashi Yanai told The Nikkei in 2020.
In May 2011, the magazine Shukan Bunshun published a story alleging that Uniqlo had forced employees at its stores and factories in China to work long hours for little pay. Uniqlo unsuccessfully sued the weekly's publisher, Bungeishunjū, for ¥220 million for libel.
A 2015 video of a couple having sex in a Beijing Uniqlo store changing room went viral. Chinese police arrested at least five people in connection with the incident, allegedly including the couple and three other disseminators of the video, for having "severely violated socialist core values". The New York Times noted that the store's exterior became a popular venue for people to gather and take pictures in sexual poses.

### Denmark

In April 2019, Uniqlo opened its first Danish flagship store in Copenhagen at Strøget. As of November 2024, there are 2 stores in Denmark.

### France

On 14 December 2007, Uniqlo opened its first store in France, in La Défense. As of November 2024, there are 28 stores in France.

### Germany

Uniqlo's German flagship store opened on 11 April 2014 at Tauentzienstraße, Berlin. As of November 2024, there are 10 stores in Germany.

### India

On October 2019, Uniqlo opened its first Indian store in New Delhi.
As of November 2024, there are 15 stores in India.

### Indonesia

On 22 June 2013, Uniqlo opened its first Indonesian store at Lotte Mall, Ciputra World 1, Jakarta. On 9 April 2021, its Indonesian flagship store opened at Pondok Indah Mall 3, Jakarta. It has 75 stores as of November 2024.

### Italy

In September 2019, Uniqlo opened its first Italian flagship store in Milan at Piazza Cordusio square.
As of November 2024, there are 4 Uniqlo stores in Italy.

### Luxembourg

In October 2023, Uniqlo opened its flagship store in Luxembourg City at Grand Rue.

### Malaysia

On 4 November 2010, Uniqlo opened its first store in Malaysia in Fahrenheit 88, located in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. As of November 2024, Uniqlo has 60 stores in Malaysia.

### Netherlands

The first Dutch Uniqlo store was opened at the Kalverstraat in Amsterdam on 28 September 2018. The opening was marred by protests against Uniqlo's unethical business practices in its factory in Jakarta, Indonesia.
As of November 2024, there are 4 stores in the Netherlands.

### Philippines

Uniqlo's first store in the Philippines opened at SM Mall of Asia on 15 June 2012. Uniqlo opened its flagship store in the country, which opened on 5 October 2018, at Glorietta 5 in Makati. The store is the biggest in Southeast Asia.
As of November 2024, there are 77 stores in the Philippines.

### Poland

In October 2022, Uniqlo opened a pop-up store in Wars Sawa shopping centre in Warsaw. A second store opened in Warsaw's Westfield Arkadia mall on 26 September 2024.

### Singapore

Uniqlo opened its first store in Singapore on 9 April 2009 in Tampines 1, which was closed down on 17 January 2021. As of November 2024, Uniqlo had 29 stores in Singapore.

### South Korea

Uniqlo (유니클로) generated more than 2 billion won ($1.7 million) in one day's sales on 11 November 2011 when it opened Asia's largest flagship store in central Seoul. As of November 2024, there are 132 Uniqlo stores in Korea.
Lotte owns 49% of Uniqlo's Korean subsidiary.
On 6 December 2020, the flagship store in Myeong-dong was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Japanese protests.

### Spain

In 2016, Uniqlo began operations with an online store, and in September 2017 opened its flagship store in Passeig de Gràcia, Barcelona. As of November 2024, there are 6 stores in Spain.

### Sweden

In August 2018, Uniqlo opened its first Swedish store in Stockholm at Kungsträdgården square. As of November 2024, there are 3 stores in Sweden.

### Taiwan

On 5 October 2010, Uniqlo opened its first store in Taiwan at Hankyu Department Store in Taipei. As of November 2024, there are 73 stores in Taiwan.

### Thailand

On 9 September 2011, Uniqlo opened its first store in Thailand at CentralWorld. As of November 2024, there are 71 stores in Thailand.

### United Kingdom

Uniqlo's first store in the United Kingdom opened on 28 September 2001, in London, aiming to open 50 stores in three years. These plans were reversed, with 16 shops being closed in 2003. In April 2024, Uniqlo opened its first Scottish flagship store in Edinburgh on Princes Street.
As of November 2024, there are 20 stores in the UK.

### United States

In September 2005, Uniqlo opened its first United States store in the Menlo Park Mall located in Edison, New Jersey. In November 2006, Uniqlo opened its first global flagship store in the SoHo fashion district of Manhattan, New York City.
In October 2019, Uniqlo signed a lease for its first North American distribution center in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.
Uniqlo expanded in the US in fall 2024, opening almost 20 stores.
As of November 2024, there are 68 Uniqlo stores in the US.

### Vietnam

On 6 December 2019, Uniqlo opened its first store in Vietnam in District 1, the center of Ho Chi Minh City.
As of November 2024, there are 26 stores in Vietnam.

## Controversies

In January 2015, labor rights violations were reported at Uniqlo suppliers in China. Uniqlo pledged to remedy the violations.
In June 2015, Chinese Uniqlo factory demonstrated after a factory closure, with support from the Hong Kong-based activist group Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM).
In November 2015, investigations into the measures Uniqlo introduced in the wake of the January 2015 revelations found that the remedies had been only partially successful, with significant violations continuing to occur.
In October 2016, the report This Way to Dystopia: Exposing UNIQLO's Abuse of Chinese Garment Workers by SACOM and War on Want claimed that "excessive overtime, low pay, dangerous working conditions and oppressive management" were still common in Uniqlo factories in China and Cambodia.
In 2019, a number of Australian workers reported that bullying and harassment is rife, there were "shouting rooms", and a toxic work culture. They claimed they had to work 18-hour days, had to fold seven shirts per minute, and that everyone leaves with "some form of PTSD".
In the same year, a Uniqlo advert caused significant backlash in South Korea. The line "I can't remember that far back" was subtitled in Korean, "How can I remember, it was over 80 years ago?", trivializing the trauma of comfort women.
In January 2021, Uniqlo shirts were blocked at the US border over concerns of violations related to a ban on cotton products produced in Xinjiang due to reports of forced labour. A protest was filed by Uniqlo's parent company Fast Retailing, but was denied.
At the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Fast Retailing initially decided to remain in Russia, saying that clothing is a "necessity of life". Following backlash, on 10 March 2022 the company announced it would stop operating in Russia, citing "a number of difficulties, including operational challenges and the worsening of the conflict situation."