Uniqlo Sticking to U.S. Coasts

Uniqlo USA (New York) has made it clear that its current expansion in the U.S. market will not include locations anywhere between New York and California.

The Japan-based clothing giant, a unit of Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. (Yamaguchi, Japan) has announced eight more U.S. store openings between now and Thanksgiving, which will double the number of its American locations.

But the stores will all be in the San Francisco and New York City areas.

The problem with the Midwest is twofold, according to Uniqlo US chief operating officer Larry Meyer: brand awareness and employee training.

A grouping of stores in one place offers marketing synergies, Meyer told Bloomberg Businessweek. Buying a billboard in New Jersey, for example, is going to pay off for a handful of Uniqlo stores, not just one. And the stores themselves act as billboards. A Staten Island commuter who walks by the shop on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue every day is probably much more likely to visit the Uniqlo that opens in the Staten Island Mall this Friday.

What’s more, Meyer said he feels the pressure to open in the Midwest has been  reduced by the company's U.S. web store.