Uniqlo’s chief says fast fashion must change with the times

TOKYO (AP) — Forty years after its founding, Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo has more than 2,500 stores worldwide. Sales at its parent company, Fast Retailing Co., recently topped 3 trillion yen ($20 billion) annually for the first time. The name Uniqlo comes from joining the words for “unique” and “clothing.” The chain’s basic concept is “LifeWear,” or everyday clothing. Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing Co. Chief Executive Tadashi Yanai, ranked by Forbes as Japan’s richest man and estimated to be worth $48 billion, spoke recently to The Associated Press at the company’s Tokyo headquarters. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Q: What were the biggest challenges over the past 40 years? A: Actually 40 years, upon reflection, went by so fast they feel more like three years. You know what they say in Japan: Time flies like an arrow. I started a regional business, then expanded nationwide. When we became No. 2 or No. 3 in Japan’s casual wear, and being No. 1 was right within reach, we became a listed company in 1994. That was followed by our fleece boom, which doubled our revenue in one year to 400 billion yen ($2.6 billion). I’d been thinking about going global when our revenue reached 300 billion yen ($2 billion) so we opened 50 stores in Great Britain, hoping to be a winner there just like we had conquered Japan.