Uniqlo
Japanese casual-wear designer, manufacturer and retailer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uniqlo Co., Ltd. (株式会社ユニクロ, Kabushiki-gaisha Yunikuro) (US: /ˈjuːnikloʊ/ YOO-nee-kloh; Japanese pronunciation: [jɯnikɯɾo]) (a shortened contraction of "unique clothing") is a Japanese designer and retailer specializing in fast fashion, with a focus on casual wear.[2][3] The company operates 2,543 stores including 794 in Japan and 1,002 in Greater China.[1] The company is a subsidiary of Fast Retailing, which was founded by the Yanai family and is 20% owned by Tadashi Yanai, now the richest person in Japan.
| |
 Uniqlo flagship store in Ginza | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fashion |
| Founded | 2 June 1984 |
| Headquarters | 717-1, Sayama, Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi 754-0894, Japan |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Tadashi Yanai (CHM, Pres., CEO) Takahiro Wakabayashi (SVP) |
| Products | |
Number of employees | 30,000+ employees |
| Parent | Fast Retailing |
| Website | www |
| Country | Number of shops |
|---|---|
| Japan | 794 |
| Mainland China | 894 |
| Hong Kong | 35 |
| Taiwan | 73 |
| Korea | 136 |
| Singapore | 29 |
| Malaysia | 60 |
| Thailand | 72 |
| Philippines | 82 |
| Indonesia | 77 |
| Australia | 40 |
| Vietnam | 30 |
| India | 17 |
| USA | 77 |
| Canada | 36 |
| United Kingdom | 23 |
| France | 29 |
| Germany | 12 |
| Belgium | 3 |
| Spain | 7 |
| Sweden | 3 |
| The Netherlands | 5 |
| Denmark | 2 |
| Italy | 4 |
| Luxembourg | 1 |
| Poland | 2 |
| Total | 2,543 |
Specialties include its Heattech range of heat-trapping clothes[4] and designs using licensed works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Keith Haring.[5] Clare Waight Keller is the creative director of Uniqlo.[6][7][8]
History
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Men's Shop OS was founded in Ube, Yamaguchi by Hitoshi Yanai. It was rebranded as Ogori Shōji in Yamaguchi-shi in March 1949. In 1972, Tadashi Yanai, the son of founder Hitoshi Yanai, joined the company.[9][10]
In June 1984, then with Tadashi Yanai at the helm, it opened its first store, a unisex casual wear store in Fukuro-machi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima named Unique Clothing Warehouse.[11][12][13]
Initially, the brand was going to be registered as a shortened contraction of "unique clothing".[14] In 1988, during administration work in Hong Kong for registering the brand, "C" was misread as "Q". Tadashi Yanai liked the error, and shortened the name to "Uniqlo" across Japan.[15]
In September 1991, a month after the inaugural store in Fukuro-machi closed down, the name of the company was changed from "Ogori Shōji" to "Fast Retailing".
In 1994, the parent company became a public company.[16] That year, the company opened its 100th store, all of which were in Japan. Japanese consumers sought bargains during a period of economic stagnation known as the Lost Decades.[17]
In 1997, Fast Retailing adopted a set of strategies known as "SPA" (for specialty-store/retailer of private label apparel), producing and exclusively selling its own clothing.[18]
In November 1998, the first Uniqlo store in a busy urban area opened in Tokyo's Harajuku district.[19]
Uniqlo's first store in the United Kingdom opened in September 2001, in London.[20] Most Uniqlo shops in the UK were closed in 2003.[21][22]
Uniqlo opened its first store on the Chinese mainland in September 2002. The first Uniqlo outlet in China was opened in Shanghai.[23]
In September 2005, Uniqlo opened its first store in the United States in the Menlo Park Mall in Edison, New Jersey.[24] By 2006, the US stores were closed.[25]
In 2005, the company opened a store in Hong Kong in Tsim Sha Tsui. Its first flagship store in Hong Kong opened in April 2013.[26][27]
In November 2006, Uniqlo opened its first global flagship store in the SoHo fashion district of Manhattan, New York City.[28]
In December 2007, Uniqlo opened its first store in France, in La Défense.[29]
During the 2008 financial crisis, the company's sales rose as consumers sought bargains.[30]
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.[31][32] The collaboration ended in 2011.[33]
Uniqlo opened its first store in Singapore in April 2009 in Tampines 1.[34] That store was closed in January 2021 and was replaced by a larger store at Tampines Mall.[35]
In October 2010, Uniqlo opened its first store in Taiwan at Hankyu Department Store in Taipei.[36] In September 2011, it opened a flagship store in Taiwan.[37]
In November 2010, Uniqlo opened its first store in Malaysia in Fahrenheit 88, in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.[38] The store was renovated in October 2023.[39]
In September 2011, Uniqlo opened its first store in Thailand at CentralWorld in Bangkok.[40][41]
Uniqlo (유니클로) generated more than 2 billion won ($1.7 million) in one day's sales in November 2011 when it opened Asia's largest flagship store in central Seoul, in partnership with Lotte Corporation.[42]
In June 2012, Uniqlo opened its largest store in Singapore, at Bugis Street.[43]
Uniqlo's first store in the Philippines opened at SM Mall of Asia in June 2012.[44] In May 2013, it opened a store at SM Aura.[45]
In 2012, Uniqlo re-entered the US market, opening a store in Midtown Manhattan as other retailers downsized due to the Great Recession.[46]
In June 2013, Uniqlo opened its first store in Indonesia at Lotte Mall at Ciputra World Jakarta.[47][48]
Uniqlo opened its first store in Australia in Melbourne in April 2014.[49]
Uniqlo's opened its flagship store in Germany in April 2014 at Tauentzienstraße, Berlin.[50][51]
In 2015, Uniqlo expanded into Queensland, with the introduction of two shops in Brisbane.[52]
In 2015, a video of a couple having sex in a changing room in a Uniqlo store in Beijing became a viral video. 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".[53] The store's exterior became a popular venue for people to gather and take pictures in sexual poses.[54]
The first Uniqlo store in Belgium opened in October 2015 at Meir, Antwerp.[55]
Uniqlo opened its first store in Canada at the Toronto Eaton Centre in September 2016.[56]
In 2016, Uniqlo began operations in Spain with an online store, and in September 2017, Uniqlo opened its flagship store in Passeig de Gràcia, Barcelona.[57]
In August 2018, Uniqlo opened its first store in Sweden, in Stockholm at Kungsträdgården square.[58][59][60]
The first Uniqlo store in the Netherlands was opened at the Kalverstraat in Amsterdam in September 2018.[61][62]
Uniqlo opened its flagship store in the Philippines in October 2018, at Glorietta in Makati.[63]
In April 2019, Uniqlo opened its first Danish flagship store in Copenhagen at Strøget.[64]
In September 2019, Uniqlo opened its first Italian flagship store in Milan at Piazza Cordusio square.[65]
In October 2019, Uniqlo opened its first Indian store, in New Delhi.[66][67][68]
In October 2019, Uniqlo signed a lease for its first North American distribution center in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.[69]
In December 2019, Uniqlo opened its first store in Vietnam in District 1, the center of Ho Chi Minh City.[70]
In October 2020, Uniqlo opened its first store in Hamburg.[71]
In December 2020, the flagship store in Myeong-dong was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Japanese protests.[72]
In April 2021, its Indonesian flagship store opened at Pondok Indah Mall in Jakarta.[73][74]
At the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian war, Fast Retailing initially decided to remain in Russia, saying that clothing is a "necessity of life".[75] 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."[76]
Uniqlo opened its first store in Poland in October 2022 in the Wars Sawa shopping centre in Warsaw.[77]
In 2023, the company's popularity increased noticeably as a result of exposure on social media.[78]
In October 2023, Uniqlo opened its first store in Mumbai.[79]
In October 2023, Uniqlo opened its flagship store in Luxembourg City at Grand Rue.[80]
In April 2024, Uniqlo opened its first flagship store in Scotland in Edinburgh on Princes Street.[81]
Uniqlo opened its first permanent store in Poland at the Westfield Arkadia mall in September 2024.[82]
In October 2024, Uniqlo opened 5 stores in Texas.[83]
In December 2024, the first Uniqlo store opened in Rotterdam.[84]
In February 2025, Uniqlo provided outfits for backup dancers in the Super Bowl LIX halftime show.[85]
UNIQLO's first store in Pune, located at The Pavillion mall, opened in September 2025.[86]
In October 2025, Uniqlo announced plans for a store opening in Union Square, San Francisco.[87] It also opened its first store in Glasgow.[88]
Uniqlo announced plans to open stores in Victoria, British Columbia, Quebec City, Calgary, and Edmonton in the fall of 2025.[89]
In February 2026, Uniqlo announced its first 2 stores in Miami.[90]
Also in February 2026, Uniqlo signed Emma Raducanu to a sponsorship deal, paying her $3.5 million annually for 4 years.[91]
In March 2026, the company announced it would open 3 more stores in New York City and announced a partnership to produce branded clothing for and provide financial support for the New York Public Library.[92]
Labor rights issues
In May 2011, Shūkan 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 publisher, Bungeishunjū, for ¥220 million for libel.[93]
In January 2015, two factories run by Uniqlo's suppliers in China were accused of labour rights violations by Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), a Hong-Kong based labor rights group.[94][95] Uniqlo pledged to remedy the violations.[96][97]
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).[98]
In November 2015, investigations into the measures Uniqlo introduced after the January 2015 revelations found that the remedies had been only partially successful, with significant violations continuing to occur.[99]
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.[100]
In 2019, workers in Uniqlo stores in Australia 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".[101][102]
In the same year, a Uniqlo advertisement 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.[103][104][105][106]
In January 2021, the importation of Uniqlo shirts into the US was blocked at the Port of Los Angeles over concerns of violations related to a ban on cotton products produced in Xinjiang due to the Xinjiang internment camps. A protest was filed by Uniqlo's parent company Fast Retailing, but was denied.[107]
Legal issues
Further reading
- Kensuke Kojima (2011). Uniqlo Syndrome. Toyo Keizai Shinpo Sha. ISBN 4-492-76191-8 Tenkai Japan. ASIN: B004PYDPOK.
