Uniqlo Says Outlook Bright, New Stores Planned

Clothing group Fast Retailing on Thursday said it will embark on an aggressive expansion drive this year and expects full year profits to jump around 60 per cent after recent disappointing results.

The operator of the famous Uniqlo chain plans to open 90 new stores and shut 40 stores in Japan by next August and is also mulling over plans to expand its UK network despite recently shutting the majority of its stores there.

The company yesterday posted a 24.8 per cent year-on-year slide in 2003 net profit to just under 21 billion yen ($191 million) as sales fell 10 per cent from last year to around 310 billion yen.

"We will embark on major offensive this business year," Fast Retailing president Genichi Tamatsuka said. "We''ll definitely achieve gains in both sales and profits."