Steps to the Uniqlo Paris flagship store

Last month in Paris, we stopped in at the new flagship store Uniqlo and were overwhelmed by the massive crowds buying up the no-logo-ed items (other than the Jil Sander collection) including HeatTech, the cool first-layer apparel. Switching continents to a quick trip to NYC and the Uniqlo store there had the same consumer frenzy happening.

There’s a reason we keep writing about Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo, based out of Japan: Their designs and marketing strategies work. And youth culture in North America (and obviously Europe and Japan) is noticing.

Just today, January 8, Uniqlo posted a whopping 57.2% increase in net income for their 1st quarter which is from September to November 2009. Much of this comes from the incredible success of the Paris flagship store which opened October 1, combined with the strong launch of the J collection by Jil Sander. In addition, their HeatTech line of “functional” wear continues to go richter -which as we noted before, is something that outdoor apparel manufacturers should seriously take to heart as an example of how a fashion retailer crossed boundaries with a successful functional collection.

Same store sales for Uniqlo also increased 20.8%, which some account for their popular neo-leather jacket designs with Japanese youth.

Overall, Uniqlo continues to be a unique (no pun intended) retailer/brand to watch for many reasons, especially as they continue to make their way into North America with new stores opening soon and a boosted online store campaign.

For more stories and information about Uniqlo, do a keyword search on Label Networks.