For one retailer, the phrase “once bitten twice shy” does not apply, seemingly. Uniqlo has returned to the UK in style, with the launch of a flagship store in London’s Oxford Street.

Uniqlo will use London to showcase its brand to the rest of the world. And it carried off its launch party with suitable aplomb. East met West in a fusion of achingly cool sake and vodka cocktails and champagne, sharp suits and skinny jeans.

Fashion press fodder Alexa Chung and Peaches Geldof showed their faces and mingled with a melee of Japanese celebrities and über cool young things. Combine that with a performance by hip-hop artist Dizzee Rascal who appears alongside quirky Londonites including film actress Samantha Morton and Skins actor Nicholas Hoult in the retailer’s global ad campaign and Uniqlo is clearly not afraid of making waves in London circles.

Standing amid the throng was an ever-smiling Tadashi Yanai, the chief executive of Fast Retailing – the retailer that is the parent of Uniqlo and other brands, including Comptoir des Cotonniers.

The sore memory of Uniqlo’s failure to work in the UK first time round – it closed 18 out of 23 stores two years after launching in 2001 – has obviously faded and Uniqlo has returned with a more sophisticated and focused product.

Uniqlo has chosen to focus on its jeans and cashmere collections – the creation of cashmere jumpers in 25 different Pantone colours will undoubtedly work.

It has introduced quirky elements from its flagship stores in Tokyo and New York to create a store with a difference.

It remains to be seen whether the retailer will succeed second time round, but there is no doubt that Uniqlo will have a cult following in the metropolitan areas that it will focus on for expansion – London’s hippest have given it their stamp of approval.


Meanwhile across the pond, Retail Week can reveal that Baugur has got its fingers in more than one US department store pie. While all ears are pricked for the inevitable announcement of its joint takeover of iconic store Saks, Baugur’s Mosaic Fashions group has been in quiet talks with high-profile US department store Bloomingdales to trial shop-in-shops for its Karen Millen and Coast brands. It will be Coast’s first foray into the US and one that is set to blaze a path for standalone stores in the desirable US market.

Baugur’s plans for US domination are well and truly underway and more news can be expected from them stateside.