Japanese fast fashion brand Uniqlo is looking at increasing sales of semi-made-to-order clothing worldwide to accelerating growth. Its fast retailing unit already offers made-to-measure clothing in Japan. Customers supply measurements or go to a store and get their measurements done, place their orders and receive items at home in a few days. A similar service was recently launched in the US, starting with men's shirts. Over 800 colours and style combinations are promoted online and they are delivered in three to seven business days. At $ 29.90, the pieces are as affordable as regular shirt selections. Chinese facilities producing quality clothing for Uniqlo will handle production of semi-custom apparel. Uniqlo plans to offer the service in Southeast Asia, Europe and elsewhere as well.
Uniqlo has kept prices low by mass-producing pieces designed and planned much in advance of sale but as consumer perceptions diversify, the company’s Fast Retailing Chairman and CEO Tadashi Yanai is pushing data-driven production and retailing as a new business model. The company is starting out with semi-custom clothing to establish the production and sales infrastructure for bespoke offerings down the road.
Uniqlo's online sales total an estimated 100 billion yen ($881 million) globally. Fast Retailing targets worldwide sales of 3 trillion yen, including from other brands. International online sales, propelled by semi-custom clothing should account for around 30 per cent, or 1 trillion yen, of overall sales, Yanai disclosed.
