In 1985, in order to understand the price trends of clothing, Tadashi Yanai went to Hong Kong, where goods from all over the world gathered, to investigate global prices and study Hong Kong's SPA "Giordano." Coincidentally, in a factory, he was surprised to see the rapid production process of Polo T-shirts. He immediately started transactions with this factory. The trip to Hong Kong made Yanai acutely realize that casual wear is an industry without boundaries between manufacturing and sales, and one that transcends national borders.
At the same time, Japanese media had begun to pay attention to the rapidly growing Limited company. Initially, Limited was just a small company capable of ordering only 600 sweaters, but within a short period, it reached a production scale capable of accepting orders for 3 million sweaters. This reinforced Yanai's belief in the trend of industry development.
To pursue economies of scale and stable quality, the company adhered to the principle that each processing plant would produce only one type of product, with a monthly output of more than 500,000 pieces. There are about 100 such factories in China; even if each factory has 1,000 workers, a rough estimate shows that more than 100,000 people have joined UNIQLO’s production chain. Such a production method would be unprofitable anywhere other than in China.
选址要“从农村包围城市”
In 1984, the company opened its first "UNIQLO" store in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture. In 1991, the company changed its name to "Fast Retailing" and expanded into a chain of 24 stores. Initially, there was a plan to establish 1,000 branches and achieve UNIQLO's chain operation. Decisions on branch locations were based on investment efficiency, which depended on whether they could support further reproduction.
The company believed that "the idea of owning land and buildings at this stage does not align with economic conditions," so it strictly controlled opening costs for new stores. By May 2000, UNIQLO had a total of 430 branches, of which 418 were directly operated. Both the land and the shops of these stores were rented. Branch locations were chosen in suburban areas with convenient transportation, using existing commercial buildings and spending the least amount of money on renovations. Low opening costs ensured the vitality of Fast Retailing's branch expansion. Therefore, among the existing stores, the proportion of "roadside stores" was relatively large.
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