Uniqlo
From a small Hiroshima store to a global leader in functional clothing.
- First store
- 1984, Hiroshima
- Parent company
- Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.
- Founder
- Tadashi Yanai
- Headquarters
- Yamaguchi / Tokyo, Japan
- Concept
- LifeWear (functional basics)
Uniqlo is the flagship clothing brand of the Japanese group Fast Retailing. Founded in Hiroshima, it built its success on a simple concept: well-cut, good-quality and affordable basics designed for everyone. The brand sums up its vision with the term "LifeWear," everyday clothes designed to improve the lives of those who wear them.
Thanks to textile innovations such as Heattech (heat-generating fibers) and Ultra Light Down, Uniqlo has established itself as one of the largest fashion retailers in the world, alongside Zara and H&M, with thousands of stores across several continents.
Birth of a textile empire
The first store, named Unique Clothing Warehouse, opened in Hiroshima in 1984. The name was soon shortened to Uniqlo. Tadashi Yanai, who took over the family clothing business, bet on a model inspired by big Western chains: controlling the entire chain from design to sale.
The company overseeing the brand took the name Fast Retailing in 1991. Long confined to Japan, Uniqlo went international from the 2000s, with landmark openings in London, New York, then Paris. Its founder now ranks among the wealthiest people in Japan.
Innovation in service of the basic
What sets Uniqlo apart is its technological approach to everyday clothing. Developed with chemical giant Toray, the Heattech fabric traps body heat and made the brand a reference for thermal underwear. The Ultra Light Down collection popularized ultralight, packable down jackets.
Uniqlo also thrives on collaborations, with artists and designers such as Jil Sander's studio (the +J line) or the KAWS universe. True to its "LifeWear" slogan, the brand champions logo-free fashion, designed to last and to suit every generation.