Japan’s wealthiest person, Tadashi Yanai, whose Fast Retailing owns apparel brand Uniqlo, is now worth $28.9 billion after adding $9.2 billion to his fortune since Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list was published in March. Fast Retailing shares are up by 53 per cent since March 19, when they hit a low this year, with shoppers once again flocking to Uniqlo’s stores in Japan and China.
The two countries account for three-fourths of Uniqlo’s worldwide network of 2,200 stores. While the company owns other brands like Theory, Helmut Lang, J Brand and GU, the biggest money spinner is Uniqlo, contributing four-fifths to its $21.3 billion annual revenue, Forbes reported.Japan's wealthiest person, Tadashi Yanai, whose Fast Retailing owns Uniqlo, is worth $28.9 billion after adding $9.2 billion to his fortune since Forbes' World's Billionaires list was published in March. Fast Retailing shares are up by 53 per cent since March 19, when they hit a low, with shoppers once again flocking to Uniqlo's stores in Japan and China.#
Half of Uniqlo’s 748 stores in China were shuttered after the lockdown was imposed in January. These gradually reopened in late April. In Japan, 40 per cent of Uniqlo’s stores were temporarily closed in May, but have since reopened. Last month, the company opened two new Uniqlo stores in Tokyo, in upscale Ginza and in the shopping hub of Harajuku.
Uniqlo launched AIRism, a range of face masks, in June that set off an online stampede that overwhelmed the company’s site. But it also lured buyers to visit the brick-and-mortar stores of the brand.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)