Based in Japan, Fast Retailing Co., Asia’s largest clothing chain that owns the Uniqlo brand applied for approval to open stores in India. The brand’s international store count surpassed the number of locations in Japan two years ago. In India it will compete with Spanish clothing retailer Zara, Swedish clothing-retail company Hennes & Mauritz AB, U.K.’s Marks and Spencer, and Italy’s Benetton.
Fast Retailing will do well in India if it can localize to the country’s requirements:
- enter India with a mobile-first strategy
- bricks-and-mortar stores to also support its e-commerce business
- keep stylists on hand and host special events to make stores a destination
- adopt region-specific sizing, and bright colors
Done right, Fast Retailing could establish a valuable foothold in India.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
