Yahoo Finance The ‘no logo’ fashion retailer set on dominating Britain’s high street
The boss of Uniqlo’s UK division has vowed to keep reducing prices as inflation eases, as the retailer tries to attract price-conscious shoppers to fuel its expansion.
Alessandro Dudech, the 34-year-old who runs Uniqlo’s 17 sites across Britain, said the falling cost of materials has allowed the business to offer cheaper prices on premium items.
“We believe in passing on those price reductions,” he says. “As the prices of natural resources like cashmere and merino go down, we’re trying to bring that back to customers.”
He says that Uniqlo has already lowered the price of its cashmere sweaters from £129 to £109 over the past year, while many of its jumpers and hoodies have also been reduced from £39.90 to £34.90.
Dudech’s bid to make products more affordable comes as pressure mounts on retailers to lower prices in line with cooling inflation.
The rate of inflation in clothing and footwear prices dropped from 6.2pc in October to 5.7pc in November, according to the British Retail Consortium, which was the eighth consecutive monthly fall.
“When there is the possibility to make our products more affordable while maintaining the same quality, we absolutely do that,” says Dudech.
His comments come as he leads the Japanese retailer’s UK expansion, with the business set on challenging high street rivals such as Zara, Next and H&M.
Uniqlo, which launched in Britain 16 years ago, recently announced the opening of a 1,430 sq metre store in Edinburgh, and it will soon unveil a new flagship shop on London’s Oxford Street.
The latter will be its third on Europe’s busiest high street, which is undergoing a massive renewal project after years of decline.
Uniqlo was founded in 1984 by Tadashi Yanai, who opened his first store in Hiroshima after gaining inspiration from British retailer Next.
Over the past 40 years, Tanai has transformed Uniqlo into one of the world’s largest fashion retailers, operating more than 2,400 stores across 25 countries – with almost $17bn (£13bn) in sales worldwide.
It is known for its affordable, casual clothing, as well as its signature “HeatTech” fabric – which turns moisture into heat.
Its popularity has led to it surpassing household names such as Gap and Ralph Lauren, and it recently became the world’s third-largest fashion retailer behind H&M and Zara owner Inditex.
Yanai, now Japan’s richest man, has spoken publicly of his desire to oust Uniqlo’s remaining rivals.
Crucial to his plan is expanding the business in Europe and the UK, with Dudech responsible for the latter.
“There’s a lot of competitors fighting for locations,” he says. “But I can tell you that our customer base is growing very rapidly.”
The company does not disclose its UK financials but recent accounts for Uniqlo Europe reveal revenues rose 52pc to €963m (£834m) in the past year.
As for Dudech, he has spent his entire professional life working for Uniqlo – apart from a short stint modelling for Abercrombie & Fitch.
Born near Milan, he landed at Uniqlo in 2012 after abandoning plans for a career in consulting.
“I always thought I would end up being in finance or consulting,” he says. “There is an allure to that industry but I tried to imagine myself in an office, in a cubicle, versus being on the shop floor. And I thought [retail] is what I want to do.”
Since moving up the ranks, from graduate scheme to UK chief operating officer, Dudech has embraced Uniqlo’s simplicity.
“Coming from Italy, we’re home to some of the most logo-heavy brands you can imagine,” he says.
“With Uniqlo, there’s no logo. I thought I knew a couple of things about fashion as an Italian, but I’d never heard of it before, this company coming from Japan – I just thought it was very intriguing.”
However, while the business is expanding in the UK, he admits that it still has a long way to go before it reaches the size of rivals such as Zara and Next, which have 70 and 500 UK stores respectively.
“We are entering the European market but just repeating what other brands are doing is not going to cut it,” says Dudech.
So far, its clothes have proven a hit with scores of shoppers in the UK, although most of its stores are still largely located near affluent London neighbourhoods, such as Wimbledon and Wandsworth.
Given its surging popularity, Uniqlo has been increasingly scrutinised over the nature of its plain clothing.
In Japan, its garments became so ubiquitous that by the early 2000s Uniqlo was nicknamed “Unibore”, according to New York Magazine, which explored the rise of Uniqlo in the states in an article 13 years ago headlined “Uniqlones”.
However, despite criticism, Dudech says the business aims to go beyond what is offered by fast-fashion rivals, with Uniqlo now focusing increasingly on repairs.
At its Regent Street store, the company now offers to fix customers’ damaged clothes or make alterations, albeit at a price.
“Obviously there is a small fee to pay,” says Dudech. “But if you go anywhere else, in terms of other small tailor services, [they charge] a much more elevated price.”
This revitalised business model has increased demand, although Uniqlo’s success has been turbocharged through social media.
This was sparked when a £15 banana-shaped Uniqlo bag went viral on TikTok last year after a user posted a video of her unpacking belongings from it.
It struck a chord with TikTok’s Gen Z audience, with the hashtag #uniqlobag since racking up 126 million views.
The online phenomenon triggered a surge in sales that saw the accessory become Uniqlo’s best-selling bag of all time, without the retailer spending so much as a penny on marketing.
As well as expanding its UK presence, Dudech also wants to improve the in-store experience for customers – with its shop in Covent Garden now boasting a Japanese tea room.
This ambition is proof, he says, of Uniqlo’s commitment to bricks and mortar.
“I don’t believe in the death of the high street,” says Dudech. “I think the post-pandemic period has shown that people were craving for connection, and were craving to socialise.
“I think that the high street offers a place to do that.”
