Japanese unit of a world-leading apparel retailer

by wgyuvs8a on 2012-02-23 17:16:08

Japan's Fast Retailing Co., which hopes to become a world-leading apparel retailer, plans to launch its fashion brand Uniqlo in the fast-developing markets of India and Brazil, while aggressively expanding its business in China. It is estimated that by 2020, the number of Uniqlo stores in China will exceed that in Japan.

As consumer tastes shift from expensive luxury goods to good quality and affordable clothing, so-called fast-fashion retailers, such as Spain's Inditex SA, the world's largest apparel retailer operating Zara chain stores, and Sweden's Hennes & Mauritz AB, are rapidly expanding their businesses globally. In terms of sales, Japan's Fast Retailing Co. is Asia's leading apparel retailer. The company has stated that it plans to continuously add new stores around the world, mainly in Asia, with the aim of surpassing Zara and H&M within a decade.

Fast Retailing's fashion orientation differs from its competitors; it sells casual, practical basic clothing such as wool coats, jeans, and thermal underwear. Naoki Otoma, Chief Operating Officer of Fast Retailing, said, "We don't sell clothes that are worn for just one season and then thrown away."

The Japanese domestic market is the primary source of Fast Retailing's revenue. The company has broken many conventions of Japanese enterprises, causing quite a stir. Fast Retailing had stipulated that: all business meetings must be conducted in English if there are foreign participants present, all emails must be written in English by 2012, and the number of foreign employees will exceed that of Japanese employees by 2015.

Fast Retailing quickly became a model for other Japanese companies to emulate. Japanese companies face two major obstacles: shrinking domestic demand and a lack of leadership talent skilled in specific technologies and language skills needed to lead the company into international markets.