Japanese brand Uniqlo eyes Cebu expansion

CEBU, Philippines - Japanese clothing company Uniqlo intends to bring the brand to Cebu for the first time as it rides on the current upswing growth of the retail sector in the country.

Katsumi Kubota, managing director of Fast Retailing Philippines, Inc. whose main line of business is the operation of Uniqlo brand casual clothing, considers Cebu as a very important market.

He said retailing in the country is doing “really well” that their locations here are enjoying 20 percent more in terms of growth than those they have back in Japan.

Enduring seven months of preparation for the opening of their third store in the country at SM Aura Premier in Taguig City, they are now concentrating on establishing good operations as they also prep up for further expansion in other key areas.

Kubota said that part of establishing good operations is to make sure that they are really hands-on with the business, thus franchising is not within their radar so far.

The Uniqlo store debuted in the Philippine retailing scene in June last year with the opening of its first outlet at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. Some five months later in November, it launched its second store at the SM North Edsa in Quezon City.

With the opening of its third store in the country, Uniqlo is right on track in its target of opening more stores in the Philippines, particularly looking at their would-be outlet in Cebu as an attractive investment.

In Cebu, they are determined to put up their shop at the SM Seaside City, construction of which is still ongoing in its vast location at the South Road Properties. SM Seaside is expected to open its doors to the public in two years.

Their Cebu outlet stalled up, it will bring Uniqlo’s products for the first time to more people in a major area outside Metro Manila.

Currently, the Philippines is the 12th branch outside of Japan where Uniqlo has presence, after opening stores in the US, UK, France, Russia, China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

It also operates stores in other countries in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Uniqlo in its website claims to be an innovator in the global apparel industry because of its various product lines that company officials describe as “highly functional and of outstanding quality at an affordable price”.

Promoting its “Made for All” philosophy, their underlying objective is to provide casual clothing that is made for all people regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or any other ways that define an individual.

In its entry to the Philippines, Fast Retailing invested a paid-in capital of P400 million and was officially established as a business in January 2012. /JOB (FREEMAN)