Uniqlo to Release Summer Clothes Starting in March Due to Early Heatwave

[Financial News] As early heatwaves heat up the globe, fashion trends and industries have also changed. This is due to the increasing demand for summer clothes as summers become longer and hotter worldwide.
On the 10th (local time), according to the Financial Times (FT), Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo is increasing its stock of clothing that can be sold year-round, regardless of the season, by developing cooling fabrics like AIRism and lightweight clothing with UV protection to respond to climate change. They are also adapting to changes by releasing summer clothes in March.
Okazaki Takeshi, CFO of Uniqlo's parent company Fast Retailing, said, "Demand for summer items such as T-shirts, UV products, bra tops, and functional clothing like AIRism is rapidly increasing."
Okazaki CFO mentioned that "demand for layering (wearing layers) products has increased significantly," and it seems to be a global trend. Europeans, who have become accustomed to large temperature differences between day and night, tend to layer thin outerwear, and this trend is spreading to Asia as weather changes become more severe.
Due to unusual heatwaves, consumers are advancing their summer clothing purchases, leading to strong global sales of summer products from March to May. 
Quarterly (March-May) net profit was 105.5 billion yen (about 988 billion won), a 9.7% decrease compared to the same period last year, but sales increased by 7.7% to 826 billion yen (about 7.73 trillion won). The company expects this year's net profit to reach a record high of 410 billion yen (about 3.84 trillion won), a 10% increase.
However, in China, which is experiencing sluggish consumption, sales decreased by 5%.
Instead of expanding stores in China, Uniqlo is closing stores with low profitability and opening large concentrated stores in prime locations.
Additionally, if mutual tariffs with the United States take effect from the 1st of next month, they plan to consider raising product prices.  


june@fnnews.com Lee Seok-woo Reporter