Uniqlo, a casual clothing brand owned by Japan’s leading global retail holding company Fast Retailing Co. Ltd., is set to open its first store in the Philippines by June this year.

Fast Retailing Philippines Inc. chief operating officer Katsumi Kubota said in a press briefing first store would open on a 1,550-square-meter space within the SM Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City.

Fast Retailing last year formed a joint venture partnership with SM Retail Inc., the retail arm of conglomerate SM Investments Corp., to put up Uniqlo stores in the Philippines.

Fast Retailing Philippines has an authorized capital stock of P400 million.

Kubota said the company also plans to open Uniqlo stores in other shopping malls despite the partnership with the SM group.

Uniqlo will feature the latest fashion for men, women and kids.

Kubota said the company has confidence in the Philippine retail market and that it will soon expand its network of stores.

Fast Retailing managing director of Asia and Japan Naoki Otomo said the opening of Uniqlo stores in the Philippines would reinforce the company’s plan to increase its presence in Southeast Asia following the introduction of Uniqlo stores in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

The company said the Asia offers enormous growth potential for the Uniqlo and is the key regional focus of the brand’s regional expansion.

Fast Retailing aims to become the number one apparel company in the world by 2020 from the fourth largest.

Uniqlo’s network of stores includes 851 outlets in Japan, 214 in Asia and 234 in other global markets as of January 2012.

Fast Retailing also owns four other clothing brands, namely Comptoir des Cotonnniers, g.u, Princesse Tam Tam and Theory.

SM Retail is the leading retail group in the Philippines with over 50 years of experience in the industry. Its retail operations include a chain of department stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets located in key cities of the Philippines.