This expansion is led by the company’s growing confidence from opening stores in new markets, a top executive at the casual clothing retailer said.
“In the first four years, we focused on north (India)—that’s why our expansion was so fast,” said Kenji Inoue, CFO & COO, Uniqlo India, during a virtual interview with Mint on Monday. “But now we are in the west; but we are getting into the southern market which will accelerate our expansion going forward. Our business is getting bigger and bigger. Our ambition is to keep similar growth rates of about 30 to 40% year-on-year which would lead us to approximately touch ₹3,000 crore in the coming three years.”
Uniqlo entered India in 2019 with its first store in New Delhi and now operates 16 stores in the country.
In fiscal year 2025, Uniqlo India reported a 44% jump in revenue, crossing ₹1,100 crore, per the company. The growth was led by retail expansion, rising brand awareness, and a strong e-commerce uplift. The company’s profit after tax for FY25 more than doubled to ₹178.4 crore.
“We don’t stick to a number of store openings so much because our existing stores and e-commerce are growing very fast. One of the benchmarks would be to double the number of stores compared to the current store count,” Inoue said.
The retailer largely focused on opening stores in the north, as it carries a greater proportion of winter wear. However, it has since expanded. In 2023, it entered the Mumbai market, which has shown a ‘strong’ response.
Southern push
“We got more confidence to expand to expand our business to the south,” he said. Uniqlo is set to open its first store in Bengaluru this week—expanding its presence for the first time in South India. It is also set to enter Pune next month.
The India market is important for the growth of Fast Retailing.
“Given the size of the market and the growth ratio and how our life wear has been accepted by Indian customers and looking at the repeat ratio—there is huge potential in this market. We are aiming for a long-term annual target of ¥10 trillion (in sales) which is triple of where we are at the moment—I think India would play a significant role to contribute to that growth,” he said.
The comments come as the broader retail industry has seen a slowdown due to greater competition from new brands, which has given consumers more options to choose from.
India’s fast fashion market grew at 30-40% year-on-year in FY24. Currently valued at $10 billion and is expected to touch $50 billion by FY31, as per estimates by Deloitte.
Last fiscal, rival Zara, part of Spain’s Inditex, which operates in India via a joint venture with Tata Group’s Trent Ltd, reported a 2.3% jump in total income of ₹2,839.5 crore. H&M India reported revenue growth of 11.4% in FY24 to ₹3,278 crore.
Profit momentum
Inoue said the company is focussing on the right product-market fit—taking the right clothing to each market.
“Our profit has doubled, which means we are not getting into the business of discounting but getting away from discounting. We are listening to our customers. We are taking action to give better service and experience. That includes the right product mix; when the customer goes to store or on the e-commerce, they have the products that they want to have,” he added.
The Fast Retailing Group, the global developer of fashion brands including Uniqlo, GU, and Theory, achieved consolidated revenue of ¥3.1038 trillion for the year ended August 2024 (FY2024). The group’s Uniqlo brand has 2,495 stores worldwide and FY24 sales of ¥2.6440 trillion.
Fast Retailing has announced a long-term annual target of ¥10 trillion in sales.
E-commerce contributes to 15% of the company’s sales in India and has been growing steadily.
