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"The
U.S. market is the most important. I'm heading there today.
We're struggling now, but we're going to rebuild," Chief
Executive Tadashi Yanai told reporters on Wednesday on the
sidelines of an event to showcase Uniqlo's fall and winter
collection.
"People know us in places like New York. But we're not known in
other areas. We would like people to know our products, our
name, our way of thinking," he said.
Yanai did not elaborate on how Uniqlo intends to bolster its
brand recognition in the United States, where it competes with
fast-fashion brands such as Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) <HMb.ST>
and Inditex's <ITX.MC> Zara, but said it would initially target
shoppers in major metropolitan areas.
Uniqlo has not always broken out profit data for its U.S.
business, but has consistently lost money there after an
expansion drive that begun around five years ago.
The company's strategy of expanding in suburban shopping malls
faltered as Uniqlo struggled to win over shoppers with its
simple and affordable items which often incorporate innovative
materials such as heat-retaining fabrics.
The company has forecast a 4 billion yen ($36.31 million)
impairment loss on its U.S. operations in the six months through
August.
But faced with weak consumer sentiment and shrinking population
in its home market, few investors are urging the company to exit
the U.S. market. Some analysts have said success there would
boost its global brand image and allow it to aim for higher
price margins.
Fast Retailing said last month that it still aims to become the
world's biggest apparel retailer. It has said it aims to open
100 Uniqlo stores in the United States, the world's biggest
clothing market, over the next few years.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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