UNIQLO RECENTLY OPENED A TWO-LEVEL STORE AT SM AURA IN TAGUIG.

Driven by a sustained strength in consumer spending habits of Filipinos, Japanese clothing store Uniqlo is staying on track with its target of building 50 stores in the country over the next three years.

On Friday, Uniqlo opened its first provincial branch in SM City Pampanga.

A week before that, it opened a two-level store at SM Aura in Taguig.

Katsumi Kubota, chief operating officer of Fast Retailing Co. Ltd.’s Philippine unit, said Uniqlo will open two more stores next month—one in Fairview and the other in Glorietta 5.

“We will also open additional five stores before the year ends,” Kubota said, adding that the company will employ 300 to 400 more individuals to man the new stores.

Kubota said Uniqlo is “currently doing well.”

“We are driven by the (economic) growth of this country.  We are watching how business here goes.  Our expansion continues,” Kubota said.

Altough Kubota declined to say exactly how much investments they put into each store, he however noted that they spend “not smaller than P1 million per store.”

“We make sure that each store has a minimum of 750 square meter space,” Kubota said.

Kubota also added that they are not concerned with the possible entry of other foreign brands into the country.

“We are ready for competition. It’s a good thing for us and for the Philippine economy,” Kubota said.

Kubota said the company is opting to open the standard big format stores for the succeeding stores but would open standard sized ones—about 1,000 square meters for future stores, still consistent with global practice. 

The opening of the new Uniqlo store in SM City Pampanga allows the brand to showcase its top-quality, innovative and fully functional apparel to fashion-conscious Kapampangans. 

So why Pampanga and not Cebu or other more popular cities?

Kubota said that they did a feasibility study in the area and the results showed that most Kapampangans know the brand Uniqlo.

Also, Kubota said that it would be easier for them logistically if the store is nearer Manila.

“We will eventually have a store in Cebu or other cities.  But we have to be ready for the transfer of items first,” Kubota said.

Uniqlo is seen as an innovator in the global apparel industry because of its various product lines that are highly functional and of outstanding quality at an affordable price. 

Uniqlo promotes through its latest global brand concept “LifeWear,” which describes Uniqlo apparel as clothes for a better life for everyone, every day. 

Uniqlo is a brand of Fast Retailing Co. (FR), a leading global Japanese retail holding company that designs, manufactures and sells clothing under six main brands: Comptoir des Cotonniers, g.u., Helmut Lang, Princesse tam.tam, Theory, and Uniqlo. 

With global sales of 928 billion yen for the 2012 fiscal year ending August 31, 2012, FR is the world’s fourth largest apparel retail company and Uniqlo is Japan’s leading specialty retailer.

Today Uniqlo has more than 1,200 stores in 13 markets, namely Japan, China, France, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, UK and US.

Uniqlo continues to open large-scale stores in some of the world’s most important cities and locations, as part of its ongoing efforts to solidify its status as a truly global brand. It operates an integrated business model under which it designs, manufactures, markets and sells high-quality, casual apparel in line with its ‘Made for All’ philosophy.