Uniqlo owner enjoys big profit jump
TOKYO: Fast Retailing Co, the operator of the Uniqlo casual clothing chain, logged a record group net profit of 132.36 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in nine months through May, up 51.5% from a year earlier, on brisk sales in Asia and a weaker yen.
The Japanese retailer said yesterday that it was not seriously concerned for now about the economy in China, its biggest overseas market, despite the recent stock market turmoil.
The company kept its full-year earnings forecast unchanged.
Operating profit for the September-May period grew 35.5% to 189.27 billion yen on record sales of 1.35 trillion yen, up 23.9%, also helped by the depreciation of the yen, which has boosted the value of its overseas sales.
The overseas Uniqlo business marked a 55% increase in operating profit to 51.9 billion yen due to strong sales in China and South Korea.
In Japan, same-store sales gained 8.8% in the nine months from a year before as relatively warmer weather in April and May lifted the sale of summer clothes such as AIRism functional underwear lines. But in June alone, domestic sales fell 11.7%.
Chief financial officer Takeshi Okazaki said at a press conference that sales of Uniqlo products tend to be swayed by weather conditions.
“We hope to catch up (on sales) in July and August as much as possible,” he said.
When asked about growing uncertainty over financial markets in China, Okazaki said he has not seen any major impact on Fast Retailing’s business for now. “As Uniqlo has been pervasive in everyday life in China, weather conditions affect our business more than economic conditions.”
For the year through August, the firm expects a record operating profit of 200 billion yen and net profit of 120 billion yen on sales of 1.65 trillion yen.