The new Uniqlo UK chief executive faces the crucial task of getting the fashion retailer’s UK growth off the ground and beyond London.

Takao Kuwahara

Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo’s new chief executive Takao Kuwahara has a big job on his hands leading expansion in the UK, which is seen as an important part of its parent’s bid for global domination.

Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing is already a global giant, with 2,161 stores worldwide, and Kuwahara is bringing his expertise from the group to lead growth here as it expands.

The UK position, which he took up in January, is Kuwahara’s first chief executive role after working his way up through Fast Retailing over the last 20 years. He succeeded Simon Coble, who left to run The Body Shop.

Describing himself as honest, strict, humble and committed, Kuwahara has been charged with succeeding where other Uniqlo bosses have failed – creating a lasting presence for the brand in the UK outside London, where all its 12 stores are located at present.

Uniqlo previously attempted UK-wide growth in 2000, with plans to launch 50 shops by the end of 2004, but losses were substantial at a time when it was experiencing problems at home and it cut its stores from 21 to five in 2003, including all its shops outside London.

If Kuwahara is as ambitious about the UK as he is about the group he has a good chance of succeeding. He said in an interview last month about Fast Retailing’s ranking among other global fashion groups: “We are number three and closing in on number one fast. What will we do when we achieve our mission? We won’t stop, we will just get better and better at what we do.”

He will face stiff competition in the UK, where Uniqlo is up against strong players including H&M, Inditex and Gap. Kuwahara is often seen wearing head to toe Uniqlo clothing, which is not surprising given 80% to 90% of Japanese people own at least one Uniqlo item.

The tough British market is not the only thing Kuwahara has to contend with; he has undergone a huge lifestyle change moving from Tokyo to north London, having to get used to living in a new country and learning a new language. Kuwahara spoke very little English until his move here five months ago.

His spare time is spent taking in more of the UK culture with his wife and two sons. He says: “We love driving around the UK and seeing different places. You get to see the real perspective of the country.”

Not one to let a simple thing like language barriers get in his way, Kuwahara is already spearheading a hunt for a global flagship in London to rival Uniqlo on Fifth Avenue, through property agent Harper Dennis Hobbs.

He has also laid out plans to turn a profit in this country, and told Retail Week last week that Uniqlo aimed to do so in 2013. In its most recent year, Uniqlo posted widening UK losses from £738,387 to £9.7m in the period to the end of August last year.

Kuwahara intends to grow the business by continuing the focus on Uniqlo employees, who he cites as crucial to its success. He says: “Uniqlo doesn’t operate with a stand back approach, everyone pitches in. As a manager in this culture, it is impossible for me to be a hands-off manager.”

Kuwahara’s attention to detail has not always been reflected by other Uniqlo colleagues; it was an arguably fortuitous spelling mistake that led to Uniqlo’s name change from its original brand Unique Clothing Warehouse.

The 43 year old has an interesting view on Uniqlo’s rivals. Rather than seeing fellow fashion retailers as competition, Kuwahara believes that Apple’s focus on customer service and the customer experience makes it more threatening than any other retailer.  Kuwahara will be playing a key role in Fast Retailing’s quest to become the Apple of the fashion world.

Inspiration

Kuwahara says: “It may seem an obvious answer, but it is also a very true one: Tadashi Yanai, the chairman and chief executive of Fast Retailing. He is never tired of searching for how to be the best of the best, and most importantly, what is best for the customer.

He constantly looks at everything and every decision from the customer’s perspective, from product through to systems and processes. He is surprising and extremely inspirational.”