In a move that marks the beginning of its broader retail expansion in India, Japanese retailer Uniqlo is set to expand its footprint beyond the Delhi-NCR region. The company, which entered India in 2019, through the single brand FDI retail route, plans to open its next store in Lucknow. The retailer is also in advanced negotiations to open other stores this year, a top company official said.

The global apparel retailer currently operates six stores in the Delhi-NCR region and its products are also available through company-owned online platform.

Tomohiko Sei, Chief Executive Officer, Uniqlo India, told BusinessLine, “We are entering a brand new market in the country, Lucknow, in July. I believe this marks a major step in our business and network expansion in India. We are looking at opening more stores this year in other areas too and are in negotiations with various retail partners for the same. We will be initially focusing on the northern region.”

“This July also marks the one-year anniversary of Uniqlo.com and we have achieved our planned targets. E-commerce now contributes nearly 15 per cent of our total sales in India. We are seeing strong demand from both metros as well as tier-1 towns, among other regions.”

Spread over 9,265 sq. ft., the new store coming up in Lulu Mall in Lucknow, is slated to open in July.

Witnessing strong demand

Sei said the footfalls are now back to “normal” at the brand’s stores, which have been witnessing strong demand during the summer months. “ We are seeing strong demand for comfort, sports utility wear and lounge wear, among others ,” he added.

Sei said that Uniqlo has been focusing on increasing sourcing from India and it has been growing year-on-year. He added that the company aims to increase it beyond the 30 per cent local sourcing norms, which is mandatory under the single brand retail FDI policy. 

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