After a year of waiting, fast-fashion fans in Vietnam will be able to purchase Uniqlo products in a flagship outlet in the very near future.
Just yesterday, Uniqlo’s Vietnamese subsidiary announced on their Facebook page the location of its first store in Vietnam to excited reactions by the local cybersphere. According to the update, the outlet will be based in Parkson Saigon Tourist Plaza on Le Thanh Ton Street, spanning three stories and occupying the department store’s entire front façade.
The brand adds that the total retail space of the first store is 3,000 square meters, enough to house the brand’s entire LifeWear line, targeting shoppers of all ages. Along with the announcement, a Vietnamese-language website has also been set up, though it’s still bare-bones at the moment.
A screenshot of the Vietnamese Uniqlo website.
Uniqlo is a Japanese casual wear brand famous for its minimalist style and affordable price tags. Even before the brand announced plans to expand to Vietnam, it has already been loved by local consumers, despite its rather questionable ethical track record.
More than a year ago, the Japanese company confirmed its intention to establish a presence in Vietnam and promised a fall 2019 arrival date. "The Southeast Asia region has been an important driver of growth for us, and we are pleased and optimistic about our opportunity to be a part of such an exciting economy and retail market," Tadashi Yanai, the chairman and CEO of Uniqlo’s parent company Fast Retailing, told Nikkei Asian Review in an interview last year.
Apart from Vietnam, the fast-fashion brand also entered India at the beginning of this month to tap into the South Asian market’s 1.3 billion customers. It’s hoped that the expansions will help cushion Uniqlo’s lagging business elsewhere. Most recently, the tit-for-tat trade war between Japan and South Korea has negatively impacted the brand’s sales in Korea as local consumers boycott Japanese goods.
[Top image via Facebook page Uniqlo Vietnam]
