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Uniqlo Owner Surpasses Zara Owner for Highest Market Cap in Fashion

A Uniqlo store in Shanghai. Shutterstock.

Zoe Suen

17 February 2021

The value of Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing reached 10.8 trillion yen ($103 billion) at the end of trading Tuesday, exceeding Zara parent Inditex’s 81.7 billion euro ($99 billion) market capitalisation for the first time, Nikkei Asia reports.

Fast Retailing’s stock has climbed since August, spurred by investor confidence in its focus on the China market, WFH-friendly offering and AI-powered omnichannel technology. China, where Uniqlo operates 791 stores, is currently the brand’s second biggest market after Japan. While 60 percent of Uniqlo’s stores are located in Asia, where retail is recovering a faster pace than countries in the West, only around 20 percent of Zara’s store network is in the continent.

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