During the first half of financial year 2024, the owner of Uniqlo, Fast Retailing Co., achieved significant growth, with consolidated revenue reaching 1.60 trillion yen (9.77 billion euros), marking a 9.0% increase compared to the same period in the previous year. This growth was primarily driven by strong performances from Uniqlo in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, as well as from GU, resulting in an operating profit surge of 16.7% year-over-year to 257.0 billion yen (1.56 billion euros).
However, the Uniqlo Japan division experienced a decline in revenue, totaling 485.1 billion yen (2.96 billion euros), down by 2.0% compared to the same period last year. This decline was attributed to a 3.4% decrease in same-store sales, caused by warmer-than-usual temperatures affecting demand for Fall/Winter ranges during September, October, and December.
Conversely, the Uniqlo international division reported a notable revenue increase of 17.0% to 883.9 billion yen (5.39 billion euros), driven by significant gains in revenue and profits from expanding customer bases in North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, India, Australia, and South Korea.
Meanwhile, the GU division recorded a revenue increase of 9.6% year-on-year to 159.5 billion yen (973.7 million euros), while the global brands division saw a slight revenue decrease of 1.2% year-on-year to 69.4 billion yen (423.7 million euros) between August 2023 and January 2024.
Fast Retailing also reported a substantial 27.7% increase in profit attributable to the owners during the first six months of the fiscal year, reaching 195.9 billion yen (1.19 billion euros).
Looking ahead, Fast Retailing expects to achieve a consolidated revenue of 3.03 trillion yen (18.5 billion euros), a consolidated operating profit of 450.0 billion yen (2.75 billion euros), and a profit attributable to the owners of 320.0 billion yen (1.95 billion euros) for fiscal year 2024, representing increases of 9.5%, 18.1%, and 8.0%, respectively, compared to the previous fiscal year.
