UNIQLO dips toe in Hanoi waters

Uniqlo has posted a recruitment notice for sales staff in Hanoi

At the beginning of this October, the Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo posted a recruitment notice for sales staff in Hanoi on its website, offering salaries of VND7-8 million a month ($300-350) to college and university graduates from any background (no retail experience required).

On November 1-2, the brand will also organise a recruitment day in Hanoi, where employees can take a shot at a direct interview.

This move shows that Uniqlo might open its stores at Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi at the same time.

The first Uniqlo store in Vietnam was introduced as one of the brand's largest stores in Southeast Asia with the area of 3,000sq.m at Parkson Saigon Tourist Plaza, Ho Chi Minh City.

Osamu Ikezoe, managing director of UNIQLO Vietnam, said that the store expected to open from the end of this year with LifeWear products, which is UNIQLO's commitment to creating perfect clothing that meets the needs of everyone’s daily lifestyles.

Previously, Tadashi Yanai, chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Fast Retailing Group, the owner of UNIQLO, also affirmed that entering Vietnam is an important milestone, marking a milestone in the brand's development and securing deeper access to potential Southeast Asian markets.

Japanese clothing retail group has registered UNIQLO Vietnam based in Ho Chi Minh City in the form of a joint venture with 100 per cent foreign capital. Accordingly, Fast Retailing in Singapore accounts for 75 per cent of the capital and Mitsubishi Corporation holds the rest of 25 per cent.

At the end of August, Fast Retailing announced a revenue of $21.1 billion, increased by 7.5 per cent compared to 2018. Pre-tax profit reached $2.3 billion, up 4 per cent.

UNIQLO is the driving force helping Fast Retailing with a revenue of $9.5 billion, up 14.5 per cent compared to 2018. In Southeast Asia, the UNIQLO brand is present in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Considered a promising market with a young population, Vietnam is a playground for players like Zara, H&M, Mango, Topshop, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius, and now UNIQLO.

According to Vietnam Industry Research and Consultancy (VIRAC), Mitra Adiperkasa Vietnam Co., Ltd. currently leads the Vietnamese fashion retail market with its brands like Zara, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius, and Massimo Dutti in the country.

The 2018 financial report of Mitra Adiperkasa (MAP) showed that the company collected VND1.97 trillion ($85.78 million) from Vietnam market, 1.7 times as much as in 2017, and nearly six times more than in 2016. Zara accounted for 90 per cent of its revenue.

Another well-known brand, H&M, reported a revenue of over VND653 billion ($28.39 million) in 2018, 4.3 times as much as in 2017.

Owning seven stores in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, H&M Vietnam is said to be the fastest-growing arm of the H&M group. Fredrik Famm, CEO of H&M Southeast Asia, shared, "As a young and growing market, Vietnam has made significant contributions to the overall growth of H&M in the Southeast Asia region."

VIRAC's statistics showed that the top 10 fashion brands with the highest market share in Vietnam still include domestic names like Ivy Moda, Blue Exchange, Elise, Sanding, and Lime Orange.

Meanwhile, Eva de Eva, Libé, Magonn, or Hnoss (Vietnamese fast-fashion brands) are also constantly showing development potential.

At the end of February, Elise, a Vietnamese fashion brand, sold its shares to Asia Fund from Japan. Tokuo Yotaro, a member of the Elise Board of Directors, said that in the upcoming time the Vietnamese fashion industry will be the fastest-growing in Asia. Over the past year, Hnoss and Eva de Eva also received investment from Seedcom fund.