the Japanese brand Uniqlo records a profit of more than 3 billion euros

The Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo, famous for its down jackets, is recording record annual results in a gloomy clothing market.

The Japanese ready-to-wear giant, Uniqlo, sees its profit jump 30% in one year to reach more than 3 billion euros in 2024. A result well beyond expectations for this Japanese flagship of clothing. This success is essentially due to one thing, its international success. Since Covid, the group has intensified its presence in the United States, but also in Asia. Moreover, its performance is partly boosted by a currency effect linked to the weakness of the yen.

In its country of origin, its sales tend to slow down due to the weather. The mild temperatures in Japan in the first half of the year worked against Uniqlo, which specializes in down jackets and warm clothing. Uniqlo plays on basic, technical, functional, almost timeless products, between sport and chic, but also between fashion and technology. The brand has, in fact, built its reputation on innovative materials, such as its very flexible down jackets which do not take up space.

This positioning is one of the elements of its success and Uniqlo is riding on this concept called “Lifewear”, with clothes that are not too expensive, which are aimed at everyone, and which are not aimed at a particular audience. This is reflected in its sales, since a large third of its customers are under 30 years old, 43% are between 30 and 49 years old and a quarter are over 50 years old. The brand is aimed at both men and women. In total, the group sells more than 1.3 billion items per year, in 3,600 stores across the globe.

Uniqlo also wants to strengthen its presence in Europe in London, in Italy, but also in France, because France is an important market for the company which already has around thirty stores. Its strategy is to open new points of sale to aim for a hundred stores in France by 2028.

But, for the brand which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024, the challenge is to resist competition from fast fashion brands, which cut prices, like Shein, against whom Uniqlo did not hesitate to file a complaint for counterfeit this winter. Finally, the other challenge for the Japanese brand, often attacked for its lack of respect for the environment and fundamental rights, is to convince that it is exemplary.