UNIQLO LAUNCHING/OCT. 21, 2015 Mr. Katsumi Kubota – Uniqlo Philippines Chief Operating Officer. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)
Fast Retailing Philippines, Inc. is eyeing to open 8 to 10 more Uniqlo stores in Cebu in the next five years, an official said.
Katsumi Kubota, Fast Retailing Philippines chief operating officer, said they will be strengthening their foothold in Cebu.
“We are looking to establish Uniqlo in Cebu. Cebu is promising, young and growing,” he told reporters before the VIP opening of the first Uniqlo store in Cebu and outside Luzon yesterday.
The store, also the 25th nationwide, will open at the SM City Cebu tomorrow. A second store will open at SM Seaside City on Nov. 27.
Kubota said they were in discussions with other big malls in the city for additional stores as part of their vision to be the number one clothing brand by 2020.
“We want to become number one in the Philippines by 2020 — not just in the Philippines, but in the world,” he added.
He said their biggest edge is the Japanese brand’s adherence to “simplicity, quality and longevity.”
The first Uniqlo store in the Philippines opened at the SM Mall of Asia in June 2012. There are now 24 stores in Metro Manila and Luzon. Across the world, there are about 1,600 Uniqlo stores in 16 countries.
The Philippine unit operating the Uniqlo stores is a joint venture between Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. of Japan and SM Retail.