Uniqlo to arrive in Belgium in 2015

Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo announced on Wednesday the arrival of its first store in Belgium in fall 2015, in Antwerp.

Antwerp, which Uniqlo calls the "city at the heart of the Belgian fashion industry," is the country's second biggest city after its capital Brussels.

"We think that the residents of Antwerp and its visitors will truly appreciate our offering of high quality, versatile and affordable clothing for people of all ages," said Berndt Hauptkorn, CEO of Uniqlo Europe, in a press release released in Tokyo.

Uniqlo has not yet disclosed the address or size of this new future location.

With 850 stores in Japan, several years ago the Uniqlo label set out to conquer foreign markets, where it already has 600 points of sale, located mainly in Asia and on a smaller scale in the United States and Europe.

After notably opening flagship stores in Paris and London, the group owned by billionaire Tadashi Yanai opened its first store in Germany this spring, a 29,000 square foot space in Berlin.

"The inauguration of a store in Berlin marks a shift in gears for Uniqlo, which is already a global giant but still a new presence in Europe," said Berndt Hauptkorn.

Indeed, after Berlin, the group opened, amidst great publicity, a new Uniqlo store in Paris (in the Marais district), another one in Marseille and has another one opening on November 14 in Strasbourg.

Milan and Barcelona are also on the list of targeted cities. The group specialised in what it calls clothing that is "basic and thus will never go out of style" had 23 stores in Europe as of the end of October.

Tadashi Yanai, CEO and Founder of Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo, expects the revenue of all its stores abroad (all brands included) for the financial year to surpass that of Japan, where Uniqlo's clothing has been popular since the 1990 for its excellent quality/price ratio and its practical features (special fabrics for greater warmth in winter and anti-sweat fabrics in summer).