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Zara Parent Surpasses Uniqlo Owner Amid Asia’s Slow Vaccine Rollout

Zara owner Inditex has halted trading in Russia, closing its 502 shops and stopping online sales. (Shutterstock)

Zoe Suen

11 June 2021

Just four months after the Japanese retail giant surpassed the Spanish fast fashion behemoth to nab fashion’s highest market capitalisation, the tables have turned, Nikkei Asia reports.

Fast Retailing’s market cap was just over 8.7 trillion yen ($79.4 billion) as of Wednesday, lagging far behind Inditex’s value of 100 billion euros ($121 billion).

When Fast Retailing last outpaced Inditex in February, the Asian markets were recovering more rapidly than those in the West; now, sluggish vaccine rollouts in countries like South Korea and Japan have become a stumbling block for Uniqlo, while swifter programmes and re-openings in markets like the US and UK are boosting sales for Inditex.

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