Ideas & Opportunities

The local retail scene is about to get hotter with the coming of Japanese retail giant, UNIQLO as it opens its first location in the country at the SM Mall of Asia this June. This is good news for consumers who can look forward to UNIQLO's high-quality, casual wear but may be bad news for homegrown clothing brands that are battling it out in an already crowded clothing market.

If you are wondering how the name came to be, it was derived from the company's first unisex casual clothing store opened in 1984 called, "Unique Clothing Warehouse." Over the years, the brand has stayed on course with its mantra of making truly great casual clothing available to everyone. UNIQLO excels  in the principle of component clothing that allows a shopper to mix and match items easily.

The opening is part of company plans to solidify its presence in Southeast Asia, following the recent introduction of UNIQLO locations in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The plan is to eventually open 15 stores all over the Philippines. A joint agreement between UNIQLO and SM Retail makes this possible.

The first UNIQLO store will feature approximately 1,550 square meters of floor space within one of the region’s largest shopping centers, SM Mall of Asia, to offer Filipino shoppers all of UNIQLO’s latest fashions for men, women, kids and babies.

Starting this year, UNIQLO’s network of stores included 851 locations in Japan, 214 throughout the rest of Asia and 234 in other global markets. UNIQLO started opening its first stores in Thailand in September 2011, following its successful expansion into Singapore and Malaysia, increasing its lineup in Southeast Asia to 11 retail locations.

UNIQLO is under the Fast Retailing Co. a global Japanese retail company that also has four other labels in its roster: Comptoir des Cotonniers, g.u., Princesse Tam Tam, and Theory. Fast Retailing Co. is the fourth largest apparel company in the world.