Uniqlo to open first US store outside New York

Fast Retailing Co's Uniqlo fashion chain will take its U.S. expansion beyond New York City this year, with a store in San Francisco set to open in the autumn.

Photo : AFP

The retailer said on Tuesday that the store will be Uniqlo's fourth U.S. location. It already operates three stores in New York, including a large flagship on the Fifth Avenue shopping strip; that store opened last year.

The retailer has said its goal is to eventually have 200 stores in the United States and U.S sales of $10 billion by 2020. Uniqlo, run by Japanese billionaire Tadashi Yanai, competes with rivals such as Spain's Inditex SA, which operates Zara; Sweden's Hennes & Mauritz AB ; and U.S.-based Gap Inc.

It is looking to expand globally to become less reliant on its home market of Japan. (Reporting By Phil Wahba; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)