Uniqlo operator says profits surge on winter sales
TOKYO - Uniqlo's operator said Thursday that its half-year profit doubled from a year ago as sales of winter wear picked up and the chain refocuses on thrifty shoppers
Fast Retailing also cited upbeat demand at its China stores for net profit coming in at 97.2 billion yen ($891 million) in the six months through February, up from 47.0 billion last year. Revenue rose 0.6 percent to 1.02 trillion yen, it said.
But the company did not upgrade its 100 billion yen full-year profit forecast, meaning results for the rest of the year were likely to come in weaker than hoped.
Asia's biggest retailer -- a rival of Zara, Gap and H&M -- pointed to strong demand for sweaters and its heat-retaining clothing brand, Heattech, for upbeat first-half results.
"On top of strong sales, we saw significant profit increase in the mainland Chinese" stores and in Southeast Asia, the company said in a statement.
Still, warmer-than-expected weather in December and January held back sales at Uniqlo's Japanese locations.
Fast Retailing has adopted a back-to-thrifty strategy after company chairman Tadashi Yanai conceded last year that an ill-fated price rise had been a mistake that hurt sales.
In October, Yanai backed off his ambitious annual revenue goal -- 5.0 trillion yen by 2020.
