Uniqlo owner expands partnership with Daifuku

TOKYO: Japan’s Fast Retailing Co Ltd, the owner of popular clothing retail chain Uniqlo, said yesterday that it would expand its partnership with logistics firm Daifuku Co Ltd and invest 100 billion yen ($885 million) to automate its warehouse and distribution system.

Automating its Ariake distribution centre on Tokyo’s waterfront with Daifuku’s aid has helped Fast Retailing to cut staff there by 90% as well as allowing a 24 hour-operation, the clothing retailer said.

“We want to introduce automated warehouses around the world as soon as possible,” Fast Retailing chief executive Tadashi Yanai told reporters before they were taken on a rare tour of the Ariake warehouse which started operations in 2016.

Fast Retailing did not provide a timeframe for the 100 billion yen in investment.

Famous for its affordable line of casual clothing such as lightweight down jackets, Fast Retailing has grown through decades of deflation and weak consumption in Japan, and is expanding abroad steadily.

But it has been struggling with some inefficiencies. In one instance, its Heat-Tech thermal inner wear, was delivered to Japanese warehouses in May, meaning the company was paying for costly storage for several months.

The new system would ensure more timely delivery of products, minimising storage costs, it said.

Shares in Fast Retailing ended 1% higher after the announcement, although Daifuku finished 4% lower.

Daifuku, which helps companies handle and sort products, has more than 7,500 employees worldwide with non-Japanese sales accounting for two thirds of its business.