SM brings Uniqlo to the Philippines
MANILA, Philippines - There is excitement once more in the dynamic local retail market.
Uniqlo--Japan's leading clothing retail chain known for its high quality basic casual clothes than can be worn by anyone, anytime, anywhere -- will open stores soon in Manila .
SM Retail recently announced that it has agreed to a basic framework for establishing a joint venture company with Fast Retailing through its subsidiary Market Watch Investment Corporation.
Based on this agreement, the new joint venture company will be established in the Philippines in the year end of 2011, with the first Uniqlo store to open in Manila during the first quarter of 2012.
The history of Uniqlo actually began in 1949 when the company Ogori Shoji was set up in Yamaguchi and operated Men's Shops OS.Fast forward to 1984 when the company opened a unisex casual clothing store in Hiroshima under the name Unique Clothing Warehouse. Thus began the shortened Uniqlo name, and Ogori Shoji became Fast Retailing.
Fast Retailing began its expansion into international markets in 1991 by launchingstores in the UK, and subsequently launching ventures in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, the US, France, Singapore, and Russia. As of the end of February 2011, Uniqlo has 824 stores in Japan and 150 stores in other markets overseas. It recently opened a great store in Bangkok.Uniqlo has partnered with several designers for different projects, including Jil Sander who signed up as a consultant in 2009. It has collaborated with Costello Tagliapietra and Vena Cava.
Uniqlo has designed uniforms for Japan's athletes in 1998. 2002 and 2004 for the Olympic Games.
SM Retail, the leading retail group in the Philippines, has over 50 years experience in the industry. Its retail operations include a chain of department stores, supermarkets, and hypermarkets strategically located in key cities of the Philippines.
It also has a chain of specialty store formats that serve niche markets by focusing on a wide selection of merchandise for each category like home stores, toy superstores, hardware superstores like
Ace Hardware, personal care stores with Watsons, and appliance superstores among others.
SM Retail is part of SM Investments Corporation, one the country'slargest conglomerates, which also has core businesses in mall operations, banking, property, and hotels and conventions.
