Uniqlo directors ditched on back of business loss

Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo UK, which launched here in a blaze of publicity in 2001, is shedding most of its senior management.

Uniqlo is making redundant five senior directors at its London head office to cut costs at the 21-store chain, which last year made a£20 million loss in its first seven months of trading.

The departures include marketing and merchandise director Dominic Chambers, IT and logistics director Simon Thomas, human resources director Norma Clarke and store development director Tim Morris.

They will leave imminently. Finance director Tony Bennett will also go, but at the end of the financial year in May.

A spokeswoman said that middle management will now report directly to UK chief executive Masatoshi Morita and chief operating officer Bernie Foster. The spokeswoman said there are no plans for more redundancies

Uniqlo would not comment on current trading, but insisted it remains committed to opening seven stores in the Southeast in 2003/04. Its plans for 50 shops in the UK look less certain. Last year, it reported UK sales of£14 million for the seven months to May and a£20 million loss.

Turnover at Uniqlo's Japanese parent, Fast Retailing, fell sharply for the second consecutive December. Like-for-like sales plunged by 30 per cent last month following a 17 per cent decline in the same period the previous year.

The drop means the international fashion group has experienced a fall in sales for 15 months in a row.