Uniqlo defies sluggish China market with double-digit profit growth
Japanese apparel retailerUniqloposted higher revenue and double-digit profit growth in mainland China over the three-month period ending in May, defying sluggish domestic consumption and lingering bilateral. . .
Japanese apparel retailerUniqloposted higher revenue and double-digit profit growth in mainland China over the three-month period ending in May, defying sluggish domestic consumption and lingering bilateral tensions. Same-store sales rose, driven by enhanced marketing and “buoyant demand” for summer products in May, when temperatures started to rise. Easy pants, UV-protection items, T-shirts and other summer products all saw strong sales, according to the earnings report from Fast Retailing, the parent of Uniqlo, released on Thursday. As the group’s second-largest market globally after Japan, Greater China – including mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan – recorded 510. 5 billion Japanese yen (US$3. 1 billion) in revenue for the nine-month period ending in May, accounting for 19. 5 per cent of its global sales. Chinese authorities issued a travel warning in November urging its citizens to avoid visiting Japan, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi upset Beijing with hercomments on Taiwan. A large number of flights have been cancelled between the two countries since. Meanwhile, China’s total retail sales reached 4. 1 trillion yuan (US$602. 9 billion) in May,down 0. 6 per cent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Fast Retailing also reported significant revenue and profit growth in the nine-month period. It saw sales reach 3. 1 trillion Japanese yen, up 17. 1 per cent year on year, and net profit came in at 426 billion Japanese yen, up 25. 6 per cent year on year, according to its business results.