Retail and fashion
Uniqlo ユニクロ
A small-town tailor turned global brand
Uniqlo's parent company began in 1949 as a men's clothing shop in Ube, Yamaguchi. Tadashi Yanai, the founder's son, opened the first Uniqlo, short for "Unique Clothing Warehouse", in Hiroshima in 1984.
- Founded
- 1949
- Shōwa 24
- Founder
- Hitoshi Yanai (Fast Retailing)
- Started in
- Ube, Yamaguchi
- Status
- Still trading
- Age 77 years
Timeline
-
1949 (Shōwa 24)
Hitoshi Yanai opens a men's clothing shop in Ube.
-
1984 (Shōwa 59)
The first Uniqlo opens in Hiroshima.
-
1998 (Heisei 10)
Opens in Harajuku, Tokyo, and its cheap fleece jackets become a national craze.
-
2003 (Heisei 15)
Launches HeatTech thermal underwear.
Years in brackets are the Japanese era year. Japanese era converter →
Did you know?
The name was meant to be shortened to "Uniclo", but a registration typo in Hong Kong changed the C to a Q, and the company kept it.
Dates follow the companies' own published histories where available. Trademarks belong to their owners; this page is not affiliated with any company listed.