Fast Retailing revenue rise but profit falls in Q1 FY2019

The sluggish performance from Uniqlo Japan was largely responsible for the decline in Q1 consolidated profit of the company, with revenue totaling 246.1 billion yen ($2.26 billion). As a result, the consolidated gross profit margin declined by 1.0 point year-on-year in Q1, said a press release by Fast Retailing.

Uniqlo International revenue totaled 291.3 billion yen ($2.68 billion) in Q1 and its revenue and profit far outstripped that of Uniqlo Japan, making it the largest business segment in the Fast Retailing Group. Both GU business segment and Global Brands reported a rise in revenue but a fall in profit in Q1 FY2019, with revenue climbing to 65.4 billion yen ($0.60 billion) and 40.7 billion yen ($0.37 billion) respectively.

In keeping with the key sustainability message ‘Unlocking the power of clothing’, Fast Retailing seeks to contribute to the sustainable development of global society through its core clothing business. Its sustainability activities seek to promote human rights, environmental protection and broader social contributions within six clear material areas: create new value through products and services; respect human rights in the supply chain; respect the environment; strengthen communities; support employee fulfillment, and corporate governance. In October 2018, Fast Retailing signed the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), as set of 10 universal sustainability principles that companies agree to adhere to under the four categories of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.

On specific product-related initiatives, the Fast Retailing Group’s Jeans Innovation Center in Los Angeles has developed technologies that can greatly reduce the huge volume of water used in jeans processing by using nanobubble and ozone washing machines and highly skilled jeans designer techniques. As a result, the company was able to reduce the amount of water used to make 2018 Fall Winter Men’s regular fit jeans by a maximum 99 per cent, compared to the 2017 product. The company intends to introduce this water-conserving technology for all jeans produced and retailed under the Fast Retailing Group umbrella by 2020, and start expanding production. (PC)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India