Uniqlo

During the following decade, Uniqlo expanded rapidly across East and Southeast Asia. It opened its first Singapore store in 2009, followed by Malaysia and Taiwan in 2010, Thailand in 2011, the Philippines in 2012, Indonesia in 2013, and Vietnam in 2019.

Uniqlo entered Russia on 2 April 2010 with the opening of the UNIQLO ATRIUM store in Moscow. Its operations in the country were suspended on March 21, 2022.

The company entered Australia on 16 April 2014 with its first store at Emporium Melbourne. It entered Germany in the same year with a global flagship store in Berlin. Belgium followed in 2015 and Canada in 2016.

On 20 September 2017, Uniqlo opened its first Spanish store, on Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona. It entered Sweden and the Netherlands in 2018, and Denmark and Italy in 2019.

Uniqlo opened its first store in India at Ambience Mall Vasant Kunj in New Delhi on 4 October 2019.

In 2022, Uniqlo established its first physical presence in Poland with a limited-period pop-up store in Warsaw. Its first permanent store in Poland opened in Warsaw in September 2024.

On 25 April 2024, the company opened its first store in Scotland, on Princes Street in Edinburgh. Uniqlo continued to expand its store network in Europe and North America during the mid-2020s.

Fast Retailing introduced radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags on Uniqlo products as part of its logistics reforms. At its Ariake warehouse, RFID enabled the automation of processes including stock receipt, sorting, picking, and inspection. A fully automated Ariake warehouse dedicated to online sales became operational in fall 2018, developed in cooperation with logistics-equipment manufacturer Daifuku.

Fast Retailing has also worked with technology companies on data analysis and demand forecasting. In 2018, it expanded its collaboration with Google Cloud, using machine learning and image-recognition technologies to analyze product trends and forecast demand using customer feedback, behavioral data, external information, and sales data.

Customer information is also incorporated into product and service development. Fast Retailing stated in 2026 that Uniqlo Customer Centers across its markets received more than 39 million pieces of customer feedback annually and that artificial intelligence was being used to increase the speed and accuracy with which this information was analyzed and shared with product teams and stores.

Technology has also been used in garment manufacturing. Uniqlo's 3D Knit products use Shima Seiki's WHOLEGARMENT knitting technology, which produces three-dimensional knitwear without conventional sewn seams.

Toray partnership and functional clothing

Uniqlo and Toray Industries began doing business together in 1999 in the field of thermal outerwear. Toray established a department dedicated to Uniqlo in 2000.

In 2003, Uniqlo introduced Heattech, a line of functional winter innerwear developed with Toray. The two companies formalized their relationship in 2006 through a strategic partnership covering material development, production, and supply. In 2015, the third phase of the partnership explicitly included digitalization, use of the Internet of things to create an end-to-end business model, and measures to reduce production lead times.

Fast Retailing reported in its 2023 integrated report that cumulative global Heattech sales from 2003 through 2022 had exceeded 1.5 billion units.

In 2012, Uniqlo introduced Airism, a summer innerwear line also developed in cooperation with Toray and designed around moisture management and quick-drying performance. The companies subsequently developed other functional clothing ranges, including products using advanced insulating and recycled materials.

Design and cultural collaborations

Fast Retailing signed a design consulting agreement for Uniqlo products with German fashion designer Jil Sander in March 2009. The collaboration produced the +J collection and continued until 2011. The +J collaboration was revived in November 2020, eleven years after the first collection was launched.

Uniqlo began a graphic T-shirt project in 2003. In 2007, it relaunched the project as UT, a T-shirt-focused brand under the creative direction of Kashiwa Sato. UT has featured designs and licensed works drawn from art and popular culture, including works associated with artists such as Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, and Keith Haring.

In 2015, Uniqlo collaborated with French designer Christophe Lemaire on the UNIQLO AND LEMAIRE collection. In 2016, Lemaire was appointed artistic director of the newly established Uniqlo Paris R&D Center, and the company launched Uniqlo U, a line developed by the center as an extension of the LifeWear concept. The Paris center is one of Uniqlo's research and development centers and works on product design while researching fashion trends, lifestyles, and new materials.

In September 2024, British designer Clare Waight Keller, who had previously designed the Uniqlo:C line, was appointed creative director of Uniqlo.

Marketing and sponsorships

Uniqlo has used athletes as Global Brand Ambassadors as part of its international marketing. In 2009, wheelchair tennis player Shingo Kunieda became the company's first Global Brand Ambassador. Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori became a Global Brand Ambassador in 2011.

In July 2018, Uniqlo appointed Swiss tennis player Roger Federer as a Global Brand Ambassador. In February 2026, British tennis player Emma Raducanu was appointed a Global Brand Ambassador.

In March 2026, Uniqlo entered a partnership with the Los Angeles Dodgers under which the playing field at Dodger Stadium was branded "UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium". The Los Angeles Times reported that the naming-rights agreement ran for five years and was worth more than $125 million.

Stores

Russia is not listed in the Group Outlets table; Fast Retailing states that Uniqlo operations there are currently suspended.

Russia

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Fast Retailing initially said that Uniqlo would continue operating in Russia, with Tadashi Yanai describing clothing as a "necessity of life". On 10 March, however, the company reversed its position and announced that it would temporarily suspend its Russian operations, citing operational difficulties and the worsening conflict. In May 2023, Fast Retailing said that the suspension remained in effect and that, with no foreseeable prospect of resuming operations, it had closed some stores in the country.