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    October 25, 2011

Gap-like Japanese Retailer Plans Hundreds of US Stores

   Uniqlo's New York outlet is company's most successful worldwide

   Ashley Milne-Tyte | New York
   The success of its first New York store has prompted Japanese retailer,
   Uniqlo, to move forward with plans to open hundreds of US outlets.
   Photo: VOA - A. Milne-Tyte
   The success of its first New York store has prompted Japanese retailer,
   Uniqlo, to move forward with plans to open hundreds of US outlets.

   As the U.S. economy continues to struggle, Gap, one of the largest U.S.
   clothing retailers, will soon close 20 percent of its stores.
   Meanwhile, a major Japanese clothing retailer - with merchandise very
   similar to Gap's - is heading in the opposite direction. Instead of
   being deterred by the grim economic outlook, [1]Uniqlo plans to open
   hundreds of stores in the United States.

   Uniqlo has been selling reasonably priced, casual clothing in Japan
   since the 1980s, but sales have been flat recently. So the company is
   looking overseas for growth. Most of its new stores are opening in
   Asia, but the United States plays a big role in its expansion strategy.
   Uniqlo opened its first U.S. stores in New Jersey shopping malls in
   2005, but they didn't do well and closed within a year. The CEO of
   Uniqlo USA says the company moved too fast and that Americans were
   unfamiliar with their brands then.

   Uniqlo now has three stores in New York.

VOA - A. Milne-Tyte

   Uniqlo now has three stores in New York.

   Shin Odake believes the company's vast new flagship store on New York
   City's fashionable 5th Avenue should change that. "If you are to be
   recognized as a global brand, we need to have a huge store in the
   center of New York City."
   Uniqlo has had a store in Manhattan for several years and it is now the
   company's most successful outlet. Anxious to build on that success, the
   company just opened a third store on 34th Street, down the block from
   Macy's department store.
   Both new Uniqlo outlets are three stories high. They're crowded with
   stacks of jeans at 80 percent off the usual price. Piles of cashmere
   sweaters in virtually every imaginable color - three shades of green,
   and blues from navy to periwinkle - are on sale for $50 and $60. Most
   cashmere sweaters sell for at least $100 and, often, far more.
   Experts believe the range of colors lures consumers into buying more
   than one item.
   "Especially when the value is good, they think, 'O.K., I'll buy two for
   me, but you know I think I'd like to get this new color for my
   husband,'" says Roseanne Morrison, a fashion consultant with The
   Doneger Group, a fashion industry consulting firm. "And that's really
   the secret."
   Just before opening day in late October, hundreds of employees scurried
   about the 34th Street store setting up displays while the checkout
   staff lined up behind their cash registers, practicing their
   friendliness and timeliness.

   Cashmere sweaters - usually priced at over $100 - selling for about $60
   at Uniqlo.

VOA - A. Milne-Tyte

   Cashmere sweaters - usually priced at over $100 - selling for about $60
   at Uniqlo in New York.

   Attention to detail is one of the things the company hopes will
   differentiate Uniqlo from rivals like H&M, Zara and Gap.
   Odake believes innovation is another advantage. He says the company
   studies its clothing with the eyes of an engineer.
   "We approach the basic product and then we try to improve it every
   year, similar to the car manufacturer trying to improve the make of the
   car. So that's the approach that we have, which is quite different
   from, I think, the other brands."
   That Japanese engineering is what brought shopper Irme Chan to Uniqlo.
   She purchased one of the company's signature products; its "Heattech"
   thermal underwear.
   "Owned it for years. Have to keep buying it because my sister or my
   family will steal it," says Chan, who likes the quality and value here
   compared to similar stores.
   That combination could give Uniqlo an edge in a slow economy, according
   to retail sales consultant Patricia Pao.
   "Fundamentally, we are a nation that is born to shop," says Pao. "You
   can only restrain yourself for so long. People are going to buy things
   that are of good value. They're not going to buy things just because
   they're cheap."
   Uniqlo USA CEO Odake wants to eventually open 1,600 stores in the
   United States, almost twice the number of Uniqlo outlets in Japan.

References

   1. http://www.uniqlo.com/us/