Recently, Fast Retailing Group announced sales data for Uniqlo brand in Japan in July, with same store sales (including online sales) increasing by 8.7% year-on-year, while total sales including online sales increased by 12.1%. The group stated that the growth in performance was mainly due to strong sales of summer products during the continuous hot weather and the successful capture of the latest trends in new products. The reason behind this may be a little understood from Uniqlo’s strategy of heavily betting on spicy girls’ clothing in the Chinese market this year. Uniqlo, which has always emphasized the balance between fashion and basics and focuses on loose and casual, with a more restrained color combination, is clearly approaching the market trend this summer and has started launching short top styles with bright colors and a short and close fit.
According to market reports, this year we can see many ultra short hot girl outfits hanging in Uniqlo stores. Those who don’t know think they have entered BM, and more and more young women are sensing the changes in Uniqlo. Many of them have become the “tap water” of Uniqlo Spice Girl T and are actively sharing their outfits on platforms such as Xiaohongshu. The topic of “# Uniqlo is so hot this year” on Xiaohongshu has 3.111 million views.
In addition, Uniqlo officials have also stated that several popular items such as the “Hundred Changes Cool T” have entered the top 100 sales list for the entire company. It is understood that short T-shirts are also displayed in Uniqlo, Japan. Although they are not a priority in terms of display location and product quantity, they have also effectively promoted Uniqlo’s performance growth.
Uniqlo’s parent company, Fast Retailing Group, released its financial report for the third quarter of the 2023 fiscal year (March 2023 to May 2023), showing that Uniqlo’s revenue in the third quarter reached 676.153 billion yen (approximately RMB 34.066 billion), a significant increase of 23.8% year-on-year.
Among the major markets, the most eye-catching growth is in the Greater China market, which has increased its layout of spicy girls’ clothing. In this quarter, both revenue and profit in Greater China increased significantly, especially the net sales of the same store in Chinese Mainland increased by more than 40%.
This is undoubtedly a performance that exceeded expectations, as the performance of Fast Retailing Group in the Chinese market declined in the previous fiscal year; In the new year, Fast Retailing Group’s Greater China region has reversed its decline.
In the Chinese market, Uniqlo has also set a target of “minimum 3000 stores”, and as of the end of 2022, it has over 900 direct stores in China, covering over 200 cities.
Next, Uniqlo will focus more on the sinking market in China and plan to open new stores at a rate of 80 to 100 by 2023.
According to the latest performance outlook data, Fast Retailing Group expects its total annual revenue to reach 2730 billion yen, an increase of 18.6% compared to the previous year; The total comprehensive operating profit will reach 370 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 24.4%. Source: Textile Fabric Platform