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Fast Retailing has reported a global shift of shoppers buying lighter layers of garments to cope with longer, hotter summers, in a trend that has helped keep Asia’s largest clothing retailer on track to hit record annual profits.
The Uniqlo brand owner said consumers were bringing forward their purchases of summer clothing, as unusually early heatwaves scorched Europe, Asia, and the US.
Uniqlo has been adapting to the changing trends by holding larger stocks of clothing that can be sold all year round, while developing specific ranges that use cooling fabric such as AIRism, or lightweight clothing designed to protect wearers from UV rays. Global sales of its core summer ranges were “buoyant” from March to May, it said.
“Demand for summer items is rapidly increasing — core T-shirts, UV-related products, bra tops, AIRism inner layers,” said Takeshi Okazaki, chief financial officer of Fast Retailing, on an earnings call. “Demand for layering items have become quite high. This trend seems to be global.”
Fast Retailing’s view on the evolving clothing retail market underlines how climate change is starting to reshape consumer behaviour and shifts in seasonal patterns are creating new business opportunities.
In the three months ending in May, the Japanese retailer’s net profit slipped 9.7 per cent over the same period a year ago to ¥105.5bn ($720mn), as sales rose 7.7 per cent to ¥826bn.
That has kept it on track to achieve its best year, with expected net profits of ¥410bn, a 10 per cent increase over the 2024 fiscal year.
Last year was the warmest on record, and western Europe has just experienced its hottest June, as climate change continues to intensify extremes of heat, drought, cold and rainfall around the world.
Okazaki said Europeans have become more accustomed to hot days and cold evenings, leading to a tendency to wear thin layers of casual outerwear, a trend that has been spreading to Asia as weather changes have become more extreme.
As a result, Uniqlo and its GU stores are holding large stocks of year-round products to be more resilient to changing weather.
The major regional exception to clothing sales being boosted by hot weather was China, where “lacklustre” consumer demand weighed significantly, pushing revenues down by 5 per cent.
Uniqlo has reversed store expansion in China and pivoted to a “scrap and build” policy, where it is closing less profitable stores and opening larger ones in premium locations.
The Japanese group is investing in a major push into the US market and has forecast a 2 to 3 per cent hit to group profits from tariffs in the second half of the year.
The third-quarter impact would be minimal, it said, and the group would explore price increases according to each product if reciprocal tariffs with the US come into force on August 1.
