Uniqlo to take on Gap, Zara, eyes India

Japan’s largest casual apparel seller Uniqlo plans to open

200 to 300 shops a year worldwide in an attempt to stave off competition from foreign rivals such as Inditex, owner of the brand Zara, and Gap. The chain is a part of Fast Retailing, Japan’s largest clothing seller. It’s betting on the burgeoning Asian market to expand its flagship Uniqlo stores in hopes of offsetting slow growth in a home market hammered by a declining population, persistent deflation and fierce competition.

Fast Retailing, Asia’s largest clothing retailer, is looking to generate sales worth $65 billion by 2020, over two-thirds of which is expected from Asia where markets are less concentrated and have high growth potential. The company projects one trillion yen in sales in 2012. It aims to open 4,000 Uniqlo outlets by 2020, with 1,000 each in China and Southeast Asia. It will consider opening stores in India, Australia and New Zealand, and will set up large production bases outside China as it expands including Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia. It will also launch fully-fledged production in India. The company is aiming to manufacture five billion articles of clothing a year by 2020. Known for its relatively inexpensive clothing such as fleece jackets, T-shirts and thermal underwear, it has over 850 outlets in Japan and about 180 overseas.