Tokyo: The Walt Disney Co's new park in Shanghai would help the Uniqlo casual wear brand expand in China, Fast Retailing Co chairman Tadashi Yanai said on Saturday, shrugging off concerns over an economic slowdown in the Japanese retailer's largest overseas market.
"The opening of the Shanghai Disneyland gives both of us, Uniqlo and Disney, a business opportunity," Japan's richest person Yanai told reporters in Shanghai, where Uniqlo on Sunday opened a new Disney-inspired concept store.
"Our business is getting absolutely no impact from China's slowdown,'' he said.
Uniqlo devoted an entire floor at its six-storey China flagship store in central Shanghai to products co-designed with Disney. A human-sized Mickey Mouse statue greets visitors to the store, where T-shirts and toys depicting characters such as Tinker Bell, Woody of Disney Pixar's Toy Story animated films, and Darth Vader from the Star Wars movies are on display.
Yanai reiterated his plans to open 100 stores a year in China, potentially reaching as many as 3,000 outlets as Uniqlo competes with Hennes & Mauritz AB's H&M and Inditex SA's Zara to win over consumers in the world's most-populous country.
"The company plans to expand its Greater China network, including mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, to a planned 1,000 outlets, with a target of 3,000 stores in the medium term,'' he said in February.
Uniqlo has about 360 stores in mainland China, the most by country outside Japan, where it has almost 850 shops.
The Japanese retailer's design tie-up comes as Disney prepares to open its $5.5 billion Shanghai theme park next year, its biggest foreign investment and a bet on the country's booming middle class.
The Disney collaboration should help Uniqlo boost sales in China "as buzz builds around the opening of Shanghai Disneyland," said Bloomberg Intelligence retail analyst Thomas Jastrzab. "Expanding store-specific limited edition merchandise offerings should help Uniqlo increase regular foot traffic and improve customer loyalty."
About 1,000 shoppers had queued up Sunday morning outside the Uniqlo outlet awaiting the Disney store's opening, according to the company. Among those in line was Xu Bingcheng, a 22-year- old university student.
"Uniqlo's clothes are cheap, fashionable and comfortable to wear," said Xu, as he held up two Star Wars sweaters and two Mickey Mouse T-shirts in a shopping basket.
Yanai said demand for Uniqlo products would increase amid an economic slowdown in China.
"Everyday clothes with basic designs and advanced materials that Uniqlo sells at affordable prices fit well as China shifts its focus to consumer purchasing from manufacturing,'' he said.
"An economic slowdown in China could boost Uniqlo's sales, particularly as shoppers increasingly look for value-for-money when purchasing clothing essentials such as t-shirts and pants," Bloomberg's Jastrzab said.
China's apparel and footwear market is highly fragmented, with market leader Bestseller AS, owner of brands such as Jack & Jones and Vera Moda, holding a 1.7% market share by value in 2014, according to Euromonitor International. Uniqlo ranks eighth with 0.6%, while Inditex is ninth with 0.5% and H&M is out of the top 10 with 0.4%.
"Our concept of manufacturing is fundamentally different and unique," said Yanai. "We don't chase trends, but we would rather want to incorporate fashion into our basic clothes."
