Japanese casual clothing retailer Uniqlo on Thursday announced its plans to launch its first store in Viet Nam during fall 2019, marking its further growth in Southeast Asia.

"The Southeast Asia region has been an important driver of growth for us, and we are pleased and optimistic about our opportunity to be a part of such an exciting economy and retail market," said Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President and CEO of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., the parent company of Uniqlo.

Its first store will be opened in Viet Nam’s economic hub, HCM City, and operated through a joint venture between Mitsubishi Corporation and Fast Retailing, who will own 25 per cent and 75 per cent of the company, respectively.

Uniqlo will soon begin recruiting local staff for the launch. "We look forward to introducing Uniqlo and our high quality, affordable LifeWear apparel in Viet Nam, and to making a positive contribution to the economy and communities where we operate," Yanai added.

The Japanese retailer plans to double its number of stores in Southeast Asia and Oceania to about 400 by 2022. The brand’s global network currently covers 20 markets in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia, with a total of about 2,000 stores.

The firm also aims to triple its revenue in Southeast Asia to 300 billion yen (US$2.71 billion) in the year ending in August 2022.

On August 24, Uniqlo launched its store in Sweden, the home country of H&M. The upcoming appearance of Uniqlo in Viet Nam will position it to compete with some well-known brands such as Zara and H&M in this country.

Currently, Vietnamese people can only purchase Uniqlo products from individual sellers or order them from other countries. — VNS