Uniqlo owner on track for 'record' year after revealing 'strong' first half

Fast Retailing, the retail giant responsible for Uniqlo and Theory, has today revealed "sharp rises" in revenue and profit, leading to "record" first-half results.

In the first half of FY25, Fast Retailing's consolidated revenue was up by 12% to JPY 1.79 trillion (£9.42 billion) and its operating profit increased by 18.3% to JPY 304.2 billion  (£1.60 billion).

The company credited this significant growth a "strong performance" from Uniqlo in Japan, Southeast Asia, India & Australia, North America and Europe.

Uniqlo International (excluding Japan) saw revenue up by 14.7% to JPY 1.01 trillion (£5.34 billion) and operating profit up by 11.7% to JPY 168.5 billion (£886 million). Over in Europe, robust sales of core winter products and hugely successful newly opened stores boosted sales. Fast Retailing said it saw strong support for core products in North America and Europe. However, Greater China is still on a decline.

GU’s revenues were up slightly by 3.9% to JPY 165.8 billion (£873 million), but its operating profit dipped by 9.3% to JPY 13.9 billion (£73 million).

Global Brands, which is made up of Theory, J Brand, Comptoir Des Cotonniers, Princesse Tam.Tamm and PLST, saw revenues dip by 2.3% to JPY 67.7 billion (£356 million), but operating profit is back in the black. While revenue from Theory declined, gross profit margins and SG&A ratios improved across all operations.

Looking ahead, for FY25, the company said its consolidated revenue is on track to increase by 9.5% to JPY 3.4 trillion  (£17.89 billion) and consolidated operating profit is on track to increase by 8.8% to JPY 545 billion (£2.87 billion). It expects a 5.8% rise in operating profit for the full year, projecting total operating profit to reach JPY 530 billion (£3.56 billion).

This comes amid Uniqlo's rapid store expansion here in the UK. Last month, the retailer announced plans to open two more UK stores this autumn, including a debut Midlands store at Birmingham’s Bullring Shopping Centre and another on Argyll Street in Glasgow. Plus, it's set to open up shop at Liverpool ONE  this April. Accounting for the three new openings, the total number of Uniqlo stores in the UK will rise to 23.