IndiaRetailBiz

UNIQLO, among the top ten speciality apparel retailers of casualwear in the world, owned by Fast Retailing of Japan is looking at foraying into India.

Uniqlo brand, which has often been called the Gap of Japan, operates over 760 stores worldwide and is a household name in Japan.

All of Uniqlo clothes from T-shirts and sweaters to denim, outerwear and trend items are made according to exacting Japanese standards for quality, come in an astonishing variety of colors and styles.

Fast Retailing is ready to pledge its $1.4 billion in cash pile towards acquisitions in India and Russia. With these acquisitions Fast Retailing is expecting to reach ¥ one trillion in revenues by 2010.

Tadashi Yanai, Chief Executive, is looking at taking advantage of the slide in global stock markets to snap up attractive targets. Fast Retail in the past, though, has not succeeded in striking big acquisition deals. Last year it failed to competitors to acquire Barneys in New York and Giordano International in Hong Kong.

“We are looking for acquisitions at home and overseas. It’s the opportunity of a decade. Companies are cheap in value now,” said Yanai.

Uniqlo is aiming to expand its overseas network by about 2.5 times to 125 stores by 2010. This will allow it to triple its turnover outside Japan to ¥100 billion.

Outside Japan, Uniqlo has stores in the United Kingdom, the United States, South Korea and China, and is looking at opening stores in Singapore and Russia. It is also exploring a push into the fast-growing Indian retail market.