Uniqlo owner reports record annual profit

Uniqlo’s parent company Fast Retailing announced “record performance in fiscal 2024” on Thursday, with domestic profits in Japan boosted by hot summer weather and a tourism boom.

The company also reported “significant sales and profit increases” for casualwear giant Uniqlo’s international operations.

Fast Retailing – the world’s third-largest clothing manufacturer and retailer after Zara owner Inditex and Sweden’s H&M – reported a 25 percent year-on-year rise in net profit to 371.9 billion yen ($2.5 billion).

The company’s earnings have reached new records for several consecutive years since the Covid-19 pandemic subsided, as the company pursues an aggressive international expansion strategy.

The warm winter weather slightly dented sales at Uniqlo stores in Japan, known for their down jackets.

“However, in the second half of the year from March 1 to August 31, 2024, same-store sales increased by 11.7 percent year-on-year thanks to continued high temperatures,” the company said in a statement.

Japan’s summer this year was the warmest on record, and climate researchers predict that 2024 will be the hottest summer on record on Earth due to a warming planet.

Uniqlo’s domestic stores maintained a “strategic inventory of core summer ranges through the end of the summer season” and increased their marketing initiatives, Fast Retailing said.

Japan is also seeing a record influx of tourists and is expected to see a total of 35 million foreign visitors in 2024.

“Brisk demand from foreign visitors also contributed to the increase in Uniqlo Japan’s sales as Uniqlo’s brand awareness continues to rise globally,” Fast Retailing said.

For Uniqlo overseas, operating profit margins “improved significantly in both North America and Europe.”

Sales in mainland China and Hong Kong were strong in the first half of the fiscal year but weaker in the second half, it said.

The company attributed this to “a slowdown in consumer appetite, unusual weather and product ranges that did not fully meet the needs of local customers.”

Fast Retailing also operates budget clothing brand GU, which reported a jump in sales and profits for the financial year.

nf-kaf/dan