Indian malls make space for Japanese brand Uniqlo

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Sep 19, 2017

Japanese brand Uniqlo has something to cheer about as Indian malls are busy making space to welcome the fast fashion retailer to the booming Indian fashion market. The brand is likely to open its first store in the country by end of next year.
 

Uniqlo was expected to enter the Indian market this year but had kept its India entry on hold citing location issues to set up their stores. With quality space a constraint, malls in India are busy creating the space in order to accommodate the Japanese brands.
 
DLF Place Mall in Saket, New Delhi will be shifting Jack & Jones, Vero Moda and Only to other locations in order to meet Uniqlo’s space requirements whereas other popular malls like Infiniti and Phoenix in Mumbai are figuring a way out to house the brand in their malls.

“We are always looking out for the right opportunities and avenues for our brands Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, Only and Selected Homme. Where the opportunity seems right, we have transitioned a few of our multi-brand stores to single-brand stores and DLF Saket is one of them. We are very happy with the way things have worked out,” Vineet Gautam, CEO for Bestseller Retail India told the Economic Times.
 
Uniqlo was expected to foray into the Indian market this year after planning a wholly-owned subsidiary, like global rival Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) to set up stores in a country rated as the most promising retail market in the world by AT Kearney report.
 
India allows 100% foreign direct investment in single brand retail and Uniqlo was planning to replicate the H&M model in India, however it had to keep its plans on hold due to its space requirement. Uniqlo had earlier said that the company is reviewing the Indian market currently and will decide regarding its India entry at the right time.