Uniqlo Owner Projects Stronger Earnings Despite U.S. Tariff Impact — Update

By Kosaku Narioka

Fast Retailing said it expects earnings to rise despite the impact of U.S. tariffs, after profit for the previous fiscal year topped consensus estimates.

The Japanese owner of Uniqlo and other clothing brands on Thursday projected earnings growth in various international markets, including North America, a sign that its diversification efforts are paying off.

The U.S. has become an increasingly important region for Fast Retailing as it chases growth outside Japan and China, its biggest markets. The retailer has been adding more Uniqlo stores in the U.S. and Southeast Asia in recent quarters while reducing the number of stores in China, where consumer demand has been weak.

To offset the impact of U.S. tariffs, the company plans to strengthen its branding, cut costs and revise prices for some products in North America, it said. Uniqlo clothes are mostly made in countries such as China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and India.

Uniqlo's North American business accounted for 8.0% of the company's total revenue in the latest fiscal year, compared with 30% for Japan and 19% for the markets of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Fast Retailing said it aims to grow its global store count by two dozen to 3,594 this fiscal year, primarily by opening Uniqlo stores overseas. It plans to open flagship-level stores in cities like Chicago, San Francisco, Osaka, Hong Kong, Frankfurt and Warsaw.

For the year ended August, Uniqlo improved its earnings in many regions, though profit declined in China due to weaker consumer sentiment. It had successful store openings in Texas, California and Europe.

Fast Retailing's fiscal-year net profit rose 16% to 433.01 billion yen, equivalent to $2.84 billion. That beat the estimate of Y410.9 billion in a poll of analysts by data provider Visible Alpha.

Annual revenue grew 9.6% to Y3.401 trillion, with operating profit margin improving to 16.6% from 16.1% the previous year.

For the current fiscal year, which began in September, it projected revenue to increase 10% to Y3.750 trillion, operating profit to climb 8.1% to Y610.00 billion and net profit to rise 0.5% to Y435.00 billion.

The stock has fallen about 10% so far in 2025, weighed by concerns about the impact of U.S. tariffs. Shares rose 3.4% ahead of the results on Thursday, outperforming the benchmark Nikkei Stock Average's 1.8% increase.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

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October 09, 2025 06:12 ET (10:12 GMT)