MOSCOW (Kyodo) Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo casual wear chain, opened its first outlet in Russia in downtown Moscow on Friday, hoping to create a network of 10 Uniqlo stores in the Russian capital over the next three years.

Fast Retailing is the first Japanese clothing company to have an outlet under direct management in Russia, it said.

The new store, with a floor space of 1,200 sq. meters, is staffed by seven Russian workers who received training in Japan for more than six months.

Russian consumers' tight grip on their purse strings in the wake of the global financial crisis gives Fast Retailing business opportunities, a company executive said.