About Fast Retailing Company

In addition to its core business UNIQLO (UNIQLO), the Group also owns several brands, including GU, Theory, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse Tam.tam, and J Brand. UNIQLO, the main brand, opened its first store in 1984 and started a chain operation centered around “roadside stores” in the suburbs (that is, stores located next to main traffic roads). While UNIQLO set up a branch in Qianjin Metropolitan Center in 1998, it also launched a fleece sales campaign at the right time, setting off a UNIQLO craze all over Japan. Since then, stores have been opened in large shopping malls, and global flagship stores and prosperous stores have also been set up in bustling metropolitan areas such as Ginza, Shinjuku, and Osaka. UNIQLO adopts the SPA (private label apparel retailer) business model, and handles everything from product planning, material research and development, material procurement, production and transportation to retail, in an effort to provide high quality casual wear at an appropriate price. UNIQLO also has unique products that cannot be imitated by other companies, and has successfully obtained 6.5% of the Japanese apparel market share ※. Since then, UNIQLO's business growth focus gradually shifted to overseas, and it opened its first overseas branch in the UK in September 2001. As of the end of August 2017, the total number of domestic and overseas stores in Japan was 831 and 1,089 respectively, with overseas sales accounting for 47% of UNIQLO's total sales. In particular, stores were opened in Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan), South Korea, and other Southeast Asian countries, which enabled the company's business to continue to grow rapidly. Established in 2006, GU achieved success in the Japanese market by positioning itself as a brand with low prices and rich fashion. By the end of August 2017, the number of stores had expanded to 372, and sales in fiscal 2017 had also exceeded 100 billion yen. GU is the same as UNIQLO. They have developed their own unique products through the SPA business model and have gradually developed into highly competitive brands.