Uniqlo to enter the Canadian market next year

Uniqlo, which is supported by overseas performance, continued to expand outwards. Uniqlo has announced its first location in the Canadian market. The two Toronto-based stores are scheduled to open in the fall of 2016. Meanwhile, Vancouver's branches are also being planned.

It is understood that the two shopping malls that Uniqlo selected in Toronto belong to Cadillac Fairview Group. Among them, the Uniqon Shopping Centre's UNIQLO store area is 28,000 square feet (equivalent to approximately 3,111 square meters), next to H&M; the shop area at Yorkdale Shopping Centre is 24,000 square feet (equivalent to approximately 2666 square meters will be located in the newly expanded part of the mall. This section will also open 27 new shops including NordStrom. Larry Meyer, chief executive of Uniqlo North America, said that entering the Canadian market is a milestone in Uniqlo and an important step in its development strategy.

According to the report data of UNIQLO’s parent company Fast Retailing Group Co., Ltd. as of August 31 last year, UNIQLO’s revenue in Japan increased by 4.7% from the same period last year to 751.6 billion yen, and its profit increased by 11.6% year-on-year to 106.3 billion yen. The growth in store sales was in contrast to the growth in overseas UNIQLO revenue, which increased 64.7% to 413.6 billion yen and profit increased 165.1% to 32.9 billion yen, which was due to the rapid increase in the number of stores. As of the end of August last year, the total number of overseas UNIQLO stores increased by 187 to 633, and the Fast Retailing Group stated that the chief problem for Uniqlo’s global business is still to accelerate the pace of opening new stores. Although the fast-selling group’s revenue source is still dominated by the Japanese market, the proportion of overseas markets has been increasing. As of the end of November 2014, the number of Uniqlo overseas stores reached 695, an increase of 183 over the same period in 2013.