Uniqlo marks 20th anniversary of global expansion with UK campaign

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 8, 2021

Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo brand is pulling out all the stops to mark its 20th anniversary in the UK market with a number of special events and local partnerships happening in Britain. That means late-night ice skating at Somerset House, special campaigns, pop-ups platforming local businesses, and new store updates in London.

The events “reiterate the brand’s appreciation, commitment and gratitude towards the first market outside of Japan where Uniqlo was established”, it said.

The firm’s debut in Britain earlier this century wasn’t trouble-free, but the company worked through its issues and the market has subsequently been a good one for it and it continues to open UK stores. In fact, its most recent store announcement was that it will be opening in the vacated Superdry flagship on London’s Regent Street next spring, underlining the brand’s commitment to physical locations and the UK market.

As part of celebrations, it will offer a pop-up residency in the 311 Oxford Street flagship store to Perky Blenders, the London-based coffee roasters. Reinforcing its engagement with local charity partners, the company will also be making a monetary donation to Centrepoint, a 10-year long-term partner of Uniqlo.

That Oxford Street flagship will also get extra investment, despite the big investment focus being the money it’s pumping into the Regent Street opening. Oxford Street will include digital layouts, and a return of the UTme! Machine for customers to design exclusive limited-edition T-shirts with partners including Tokyo Bike, Jasper Morrison and Tate Modern.

And that ice-skating initiative will run from November to January under the name Skate Lates with Uniqlo. It’s a new series of rink-side deck takeovers from a curated line-up of leading contemporary DJs, artists and collectives across the season.

Visitors can will also be able to sample Heattech products, as well as receive a voucher to be used in one of its stores.