Uniqlo to go ahead with its expansion plans in China

Negating the reports that they are holding back the expansion of Uniqlo casual apparel outlets following last week’s anti-Japan protests in China, the Chairman and President of Japanese retailing giant Fast Retailing Co., Mr. Tadashi Yanai, has said that their plan is very much intact and there are no changes in it.

In a briefing on company’s sales and development strategy for Uniqlo brand for the forthcoming winter season, he said they plan to launch 80 new Uniqlo outlets in China during the current business year that started on September 1, 2012.

Once this is achieved, the company plans to add 100 new outlets each year, next year onwards, he added.

Till now, the company has not suffered any loss or damage on account of the anti-Japan demonstrations, during which protesters sometimes target Japanese firms operating in China.

In mid-September, Fast Retailing shut almost 60 of its Uniqlo outlets in China to avoid any problems.

The protest has been stirred by a diplomatic row between China and Japan over a group of islands in the East China Sea.

By end of the last business year, the number of Uniqlo outlets in China reached 145, which shows an addition of 65 outlets during the year.