Fast Retailing, the parent company of Japanese fast fashion giant Uniqlo, announced on March 16 that it will open three large new Uniqlo concept stores in the Tokyo metropolitan area from April to May this year.
Fast Retail pointed out that of the three stores, two are located in downtown Tokyo and one is located in Yokohama . The group hopes to take advantage of the Olympic Games this summer to further strengthen the brand’s influence by relying on large-scale stores. Its target customers are not only tourists visiting Japan, but also local consumers.
Fast Retail Group has also set up special websites for these three stores, which are not currently open to the public.
Fast Retailing pointed out: “These three stores are upgraded versions of all our UNIQLO stores so far, and they can reflect the Lifewear concept. We will provide the best UNIQLO to all customers who come to the store. products and the most comprehensive services.”
Uniqlo Park Yokohama Bayside
Uniqlo Park Yokohama Bayside, located in Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama City, will open on April 10. The store was designed by the well-known Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. It is a comprehensive store for Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo and GU brands. It is a three-story independent building with an overall retail area of approximately 4,000 square meters.
This family-oriented store is the latest store type of Fast Retailing Group. The first floor is UNIQLO, the second floor is GU, and the third floor is a floor dedicated to children and infant products. UNIQLO’s children’s and infant products and GU’s children’s products are gathered here.
With the concept of Park, this new store is not only a retail store selling UNIQLO and GU products, but also a community park created by Fast Retailing Group for local people, where the elders can have a rest. A place where children can play. The store also plans to install climbing frames (Jungle Gym, slides and other amusement equipment on the roof).
Uniqlo Harajuku
Uniqlo Harajuku, located near JR Harajuku Station, is scheduled to open on April 25. Uniqlo’s first Harajuku store opened in 1998. This time it is the first time in 8 years to open a store in Harajuku. The new store has two floors, one underground and one above ground, with a total of 2,000 square meters of retail space.
This store mainly embodies the “online and offline integration” advocated by Fast Retailing, opening up an exclusive retail space for the group’s style app StyleHint: StyleHint Harajuku, which is This retail space is also available for the first time. In addition, Uniqlo Harajuku also launched the upgraded version of UT retail space UT POP OUT for the first time.
In August 2019, Fast Retailing announced that it was testing the StyleHint app. Users can find the same products from Uniqlo and GU as long as they upload pictures of their favorite clothes to the app. . At the same time, StyleHint will also learn independently based on the uploaded pictures. The more pictures users upload, the more accurate the search for similar products will be.
Uniqlo Tokyo
The global flagship store Uniqlo Tokyo in Ginza will open on May 15. The exterior and interior design of this store was designed by Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Architecture.
On the basis of the old site, this store merged the women’s merchandise store space of Marronnier Gate Ginza which was open until the end of February this year. As a result, the overall retail space was changed from the original first floor Expanded to 4 floors, the overall area reaches 4460 square meters.
Also in Ginza is Uniqlo Ginza, which is also a global flagship store. Most of the customers of this store are overseas tourists visiting Japan, and it has become a tourist attraction. Fast Retailing Group pointed out that the new Uniqlo Tokyo not only provides customers with spacious shopping space, but also integrates and embodies the brand concept of Lifewear (clothing life).
Fast Retail Group may further promote such new stores in Japan in the future, aiming to boost the sluggish local market. As of the end of February 2020, Uniqlo had 811 stores in Japan. In recent years, Fast Retailing Group has actively expanded in Asian markets such as China, and the number of local stores has gradually decreased from its peak of 862 at the end of May 2014.
Fast Retailing Group stated that despite the global spread of the new coronavirus epidemic, it remains to be seen whether the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be held as scheduled. But even so, after all, the world has set its sights on Japan and Tokyo, and opening large stores will still help further strengthen the brand’s influence.
Fast Retail Group pointed out in the announcement that the specific opening time may be adjusted due to the development of the epidemic. </p
