Tokyo, Oct. 8 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Fast Retailing Co., the operator of Uniqlo and other casual clothing stores, said Thursday that its sales for the year that ended in August grew 16.6 pct from the previous year to a record 3,963.3 billion yen. The group’s mainstay Uniqlo business posted sharp increases in sales and profits overseas, mainly in Europe and the United States. Operating profit rose 31.7 pct to 743,128 million yen, while net profit increased 25.3 pct to 542,516 million yen, both marking record highs. Meanwhile, H&M Group of Sweden, the world’s second-largest apparel retailer, posted sales of 228.2 billion Swedish kronor, or about 3.6 trillion yen, for the year that ended in November 2025. Fast Retailing’s sales were roughly on a par with those of the Swedish retailer. “Sales of 10 trillion yen are now within sight,” Tadashi Yanai, chairman and president of Fast Retailing, said at a press conference. Yanai said in 2023 that he aimed to raise the company’s sales to 10 trillion yen over the following decade. “Future growth will come from markets in Southeast Asia, India and Australia,” the president added. Fast Retailing’s lower-priced GU brand “has the potential to match or even surpass Uniqlo,” Yanai said, adding that the company aims to develop GU into a major global brand. For the business year that started in September, Fast Retailing forecasts its sales to rise 12.3 pct to 4.45 trillion yen. Operating profit is projected to increase 11.7 pct to 830 billion yen, while net profit is estimated to grow 3.2 pct to 560 billion yen. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
