With profits doubling, UNIQLO sharpens focus on metros and e-commerce in India

UNIQLO’s India story is beginning to look less like a cautious market entry and more like a long-term growth play anchored in steady expansion, disciplined execution, and profitability.

Six years after entering the country, the Japanese apparel brand has clocked nearly 60% CAGR since 2019, turned profitable within three years, and continues to post double-digit margins. In FY25, UNIQLO India crossed ₹1,100 crore in revenue, marking a 44% year-on-year jump. Profit after tax more than doubled to ₹178.4 crore, translating into a healthy 15% PAT margin. 

“For a market of this size, our current scale is still small. That’s exactly why the growth potential is very high,” said Kenji Inoue, COO & CFO, UNIQLO India, emphasising why India remains a priority pillar within Fast Retailing’s global strategy.

The company currently operates 17 stores across India, along with a growing e-commerce business. Expansion is firmly focused on metro and tier-one cities such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune, with the aim of improving accessibility rather than chasing store count. “Our first priority is still metros. One store in a city like Bengaluru is not enough to be truly accessible,” Inoue said, adding that customer experience, staff training and supply-chain readiness dictate the pace of expansion.

E-commerce is emerging as an equally important growth lever. According to Inoue, online sales are growing at a similar pace as offline retail, and store additions have not cannibalised digital demand. “As brand awareness increases with physical stores, online also grows together,” he said, pointing to cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru as strong online markets even before store launches.

India’s growth trajectory also mirrors Fast Retailing’s strong global performance. For the twelve months ended August 31, 2025, the group reported consolidated revenue of ¥3.4005 trillion ($22.8 billion), up 9.6% year on year, and business profit of ¥551.1 billion ($3.69 billion), a 13.6% increase. Profit attributable to owners rose 16.4% to ¥433.0 billion ($2.90 billion), marking the fourth consecutive year of record results. Looking ahead, Fast Retailing expects FY26 revenue to grow 10.3% to ¥3.75 trillion ($25.1 billion), with business profit rising 10.7% to ¥610 billion ($4.09 billion).

Back in India, Inoue said the company expects to maintain a similar growth momentum going forward. “If we keep growing at the same pace, crossing ₹3,000 crore in a few years is possible. It’s not a target, but a natural outcome of sustained growth,” he said.

The strategy for Uniqlo in India seems to be clear: deepen presence in key cities, scale e-commerce, expand local sourcing for sustainability, and prioritise customer trust over aggressive expansion. 

As Inoue puts it, “We don’t chase figures. Long-term trust with customers matters more than short-term scale.”