Although Uniqlo has been committed to global business expansion, about 90% of its group's sales are still in the Japanese market. However, in recent years, with the increase in the number of overseas direct stores, the sales ratio has begun to change. By the end of August 2009, there were 750 directly operated stores and 20 franchise stores in Japan, with a total sales revenue within Japan amounting to 538.2 billion yen; overseas, there were 92 directly operated stores, among which the number of stores in Asia had doubled to reach 76. Therefore, the overall operating revenue from overseas markets increased to account for 28.8% of the total income, reaching 37.7 billion yen. Currently, Uniqlo's overseas markets include mainland China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, South Korea, Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Among these, China ranks first in Uniqlo's overseas markets with 33 directly operated stores, followed closely by South Korea with 30 directly operated stores. Although most of Fast Retailing's sales performance still comes from Japan at present, judging from the growth rate of market sales in recent years, the overseas market is clearly higher than that in Japan, indicating great potential for development.
Uniqlo's Development Journey in China:
Since setting up production management offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen in 1999, the quantity of clothing produced by Uniqlo in China has been increasing year by year. Currently, Fast Retailing has 70 factories producing clothing for Uniqlo, all located in Asian countries. Among them, products produced by Chinese factories account for 80% of the total.
Since Uniqlo brand’s direct stores officially entered the Chinese market in 2002, it has achieved rapid development. In 2006, Fast Retailing began setting up production management offices in Vietnam, Bangladesh, and other countries, marking the transformation of the Chinese market from a manufacturing base to a core sales market. Accompanying this shift in business strategy, Fast Retailing (China) Trading Co., Ltd. was established in Shanghai at the end of 2006, mainly responsible for the sales of Uniqlo branded clothing in China and related work. By August 2009, Uniqlo had 33 directly operated stores in China and also owned an online flagship store.
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