Uniqlo Speeds Up Store Organization... Limited Edition Products Sold Out

On the 31st, a notice of business closure was posted at the Uniqlo Myeongdong Central Store in Jung-gu, Seoul. The flagship store, Uniqlo Myeongdong Central, will close on this day due to the impact on the Myeongdong commercial district caused by the No Japan movement and COVID-19. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Following the boycott of Japanese products and the impact of COVID-19, Uniqlo, which has been experiencing a downturn, is accelerating the closure of its stores. Uniqlo, which closed 18 stores in the first half of the year alone, will also shut down its first store in Korea.

According to Uniqlo on the 17th, Uniqlo will cease operations at its store located inside Lotte Mart Jamsil on the 24th. Lotte Mart Jamsil is the first store introduced domestically in 2005 along with the Seoul Yeongdeungpo and Incheon stores.

Uniqlo closed 18 stores in the first half of this year alone. After closing about 30 stores last year, Uniqlo shut down the Daejeon Homeplus Yuseong store and AK& Suwon store in January this year, as well as the Myeongdong Central store, the world's second-largest flagship store.

The number of stores, which reached 190 at the end of August 2019 before the boycott of Japanese products, shrank to about 140 at the beginning of this year, and as of the 17th, only 135 stores remain nationwide.

Meanwhile, Uniqlo, accelerating the reorganization of offline stores, is seeking to overcome its slump by strengthening its online presence and targeting the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) with limited edition products through collaborations.

Recently, the collection Uniqlo launched in collaboration with Japan's high-end brand "White Mountaineering" caused a sell-out frenzy. Uniqlo released a total of nine items in collaboration with White Mountaineering: four for men, two for women, and three for children. White Mountaineering is a brand created by designer Yosuke Aizawa in 2006 with the slogan "The field for wearing clothes is all outdoors."

On White Mountaineering's online mall, transitional season jackets are sold for around 1 million KRW. Outerwear such as winter padding is reported to be priced around 3 million KRW. Uniqlo significantly lowered the prices of the collaboration jackets and padding products to between 129,000 KRW and 149,000 KRW, creating an opportunity to purchase near-luxury level padding and jackets in the 100,000 KRW range, which attracted great interest even before the release.

Earlier, when Uniqlo launched the '+J Collection' in collaboration with designer Jil Sander in November last year, a sell-out frenzy also occurred. "Open runs," where customers line up before the store opens to secure stock, were also reported.

Uniqlo appears to have escaped losses this year by streamlining stores and continuously launching collaboration products. Fast Retailing, which operates Uniqlo, stated in a disclosure, "Uniqlo Korea reported a slight decrease in annual sales, but the business has returned to profitability."