Japan’s Uniqlo has acquired a 35 per cent stake in Ha Noi-based women’s fashion products maker Elise Joint-Stock Company.

The deal has been finalised, with Elise getting tens of millions of dollars – though the exact price has not been disclosed – much higher than its entire charter capital.

Elise has more than 100 stores across the country.

With this, Uniqlo seems to have taken a step closer to opening its first store in Viet Nam next year.

Recently it has announced plans to open the store in HCM City next year.

The store will be operated through a joint venture between Fast Retailing and Mitsubishi Corporation, who will own 75 per cent and 25 per cent of the company.

Uniqlo said it plans to double the number of its stores in Southeast Asia and Oceania to around 400 by 2022. Its global network spans 20 markets in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia with around 2,000 stores.

It aims to triple its revenue in Southeast Asia to 300 billion yen (US$2.67 billion) for the year ending in August 2022.

On August 24 Uniqlo launched a store in Sweden, the home of H&M.

Uniqlo’s arrival in Viet Nam is expected to intensify the competition for foreign brands like Zara and H&M, which came in 2016 and 2017.

Currently Vietnamese can only buy Uniqlo products from local retailers or have to order them from Japan.

A number of international brands have entered Viet Nam since the country opened up its retail market to foreign investment in 2015.

The fashion market is estimated to grow to more than $3.8 billion this year and to over $5 billion by 2021, according to BMI Research. — VNS