Japan's Fast Retailing reiterated on Thursday its forecast for a third year of record profits, as the Uniqlo owner ramps up an expansion into North America and Europe to take on entrenched rivals H&M and Zara owner Inditex.
Its ambitious growth moves in Western markets comes as sales in its home market weaken, with seven flagship stores in the two overseas regions now among its top 10 bestselling Uniqlo stores.
"The apparel market in Europe is worth ¥70 trillion ($457 billion), but Uniqlo's share is still only about 0.5% of that," Uniqlo Europe CEO Taku Morikawa told a results news conference.