Fast Retailing Co., Thailand’s leading casual wear chain operator, will open its first roadside Uniqlo store in Southeast Asia in March, marking a milestone in store expansion within the region because it introduces a business model that could be a staple in Japan.
The facility, situated on Phatthanakan Road in eastern Bangkok, will open on March 23 and can aim to tap demand in an area of about 700,000 people, said Tomoyoshi Oguri, chief operating officer of Uniqlo Thai Co.
The showroom, which can have an area of roughly 1,440 square meters and can have 50 to 60 parking spaces, will present the total product range, including men’s, women’s and youngsters’s clothing. The local branch expects 2,000 to three,000 customer visits per week in a strategic location connecting the eastern a part of the Thai capital with town center.
Since its debut on this country in 2011, the favored Japanese brand has opened 35 stores in Thailand, which boast the best sales amongst stores in the complete region.
Operating roadside stores is the Yamaguchi-based company’s primary domestic strategy. The Thai branch is entering a brand new phase of its operations within the country – 21 of 35 stores now operate in shopping malls in Bangkok, but none of them have road access.
Thailand might be the fourth market where the clothing giant has opened a Uniqlo roadside store, after Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The recent store might be more convenient and supply consumers with a brand new shopping experience, including local marketing events, Oguri said.
By April, the local unit plans so as to add two more stores in department shops in Samut Sakhon province, west of the capital, and within the northern province of Phitsanulok, in response to Oguri.
At the tip of November, there have been 175 Uniqlo stores operating in Southeast Asia and Oceania. According to the corporate, forty recent branches are planned in each regions by the tip of August.
Source :“Japanese Times”.
