Aiming at the second and third lines, what actions will Uniqlo have after the "recovery" of sales?

Japanese clothing giant Uniqlo bet on Greater China. Faced with the explosion of tourism in China, Uniqlo intends to open 100 more stores in the next fiscal year.

Fast Retailing, the parent company of the brand, has set an "internal goal" to increase the number of discount stores they operate in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to 1,000, roughly double the original number. There is no timetable for this plan.

　 "Considering the consumption power of second and third tier cities, these markets are very worth exploring." Uniqlo Greater China CEO Pening told The Post in an interview.

　　Sales Group is in the quagmire of declining performance. From 2014 to 2015, due to the impact of deflation and exchange rates, the increase in raw material costs and the increase in labor production costs in OEM factories, the Fast Retailing Group carried out two price increases to varying degrees. In July 2014, the average price increase of Uniqlo products in autumn and winter was 5%, and the average price increase of Uniqlo products reached 10% in 2015. Wrong price increases have damaged Uniqlo's consistently economical and practical brand image, resulting in a significant reduction in passenger flow.

　　 The new price reduction strategy helped Uniqlo achieve rapid growth in the Japanese market. In the second half of the fiscal year, its profit increased by 38% to 38.3 billion yen (approximately 2.86 billion U.S. dollars). At the same time, Uniqlo’s international business grew rapidly by 81%, reaching 13.6 billion yen, of which China’s emerging middle class contributed a lot. Fast Retailing Group’s Hong Kong stocks plummeted 36% in the last fiscal year. Starting three months ago, the company’s stock price began to rebound and its losses gradually decreased. It is now only 7% lower than the same period last year.

　　 The Japanese company controlled by Japan’s richest man Masaru Yanai squeezed into overseas markets mainly because of the downturn in Japan’s domestic economy and the strong yen. However, in China, Uniqlo has encountered strong squeeze from European fast fashion brands H&M and Zara.

　　 "For example, Golden Week is a headache for us, because more Chinese people are busy traveling." Pening said that this trend will affect the performance of retailers such as Uniqlo. During this year's Golden Week, about 500 million Chinese were on the road, a 12% increase over last year. Analysts believe that the tourism demand of the emerging middle class will remain strong for a long time.

　　 Penning has a personal view on China's tourism growth. "Before such public holidays, we should prepare special market events so that travelers can take Uniqlo products out." He said, "For example, we have an ultra-light jacket that is very suitable for travelers."

　　 As a partner of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Uniqlo recorded sales of more than 600 million yuan on Tmall Double 11 last year, becoming the top brand in the apparel category.

　　 Pening said that the company will seek more solutions from online to offline in the future. "With the gradual expansion of our business in China, in the future, consumers are likely to place orders online and then pick up the goods at the nearest Uniqlo store. This can better satisfy the growing number of mobile consumers."