The owner of clothing brand Uniqlo has trimmed its profit outlook for the year, highlighting that additional government restrictions in Japan and other key markets continue to slow customer traffic in store.
Coronavirus continues to impact the retail landscape in many markets, and Japan, one of Uniqlo’s key markets and a region where the brand operates 800 stores, declared a fourth coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo. Due to this, Fast Retailing said it now expected its operating profits for the fiscal year ending August to rise 64 per cent year on year to 245 billion yen, versus their previous estimation of 255 billion yen.
Chief Financial Officer, Takeshi Okazaki, told reporters in Tokyo: “With the declaration of a state of emergency again, it is expected that customers’ willingness to go out and shop will be more restrained. We expect that trend will continue for the time being, so we have revised our business forecast to reflect this.”
Profits did rise for Fast Retailing to 227.9 billion yen in the nine months ending May from 134.4 billion yen in the year prior, which was hit exceptionally hard due to the coronavirus crisis.
