Uniqlo Owner Posts Record Annual Profit, Expects Further Growth

By Kosaku Narioka

Fast Retailing reported record annual net profit, driven by strong earnings across regions, and projected further profit growth this fiscal year.

The Japanese owner of Uniqlo and other clothing brands said Thursday that net profit rose 25% to 542.52 billion yen, equivalent to $3.43 billion, for the 12 months ended August. That beat the estimate of Y510.7 billion in a poll of analysts by data provider Visible Alpha.

Annual revenue grew 17% to Y3.963 trillion. For the year that began in September, it projected that revenue to increase 12% to Y4.450 trillion and net profit to climb 3.2% to Y560.00 billion.

Uniqlo's North America sales made up 9.2% of the company's total revenue in the latest fiscal year and its Europe business accounted for 13%, compared with 27% for Japan and 18% for the markets of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The U.S. and Europe have become increasingly important regions for Fast Retailing, which is seeking growth beyond Japan and China as part of its diversification strategy.

Fast Retailing has set separate annual regional revenue targets of Y1 trillion, or $6.33 billion, for Uniqlo's operations in North America and Europe in about five years.

The Japanese owner of Uniqlo has been adding stores in the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia in recent quarters while reducing the number of locations in China.

The apparel retailer is also taking steps to shore up its business in the world's second-largest economy.

Fast Retailing said it planned to reopen its Uniqlo flagship store in Shanghai on Oct. 30 and also revamp several stores in the Chinese city this year.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 08, 2026 03:10 ET (07:10 GMT)