The entry of Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo, a global rival to Zara and H&M, is likely to be delayed by up to two years, a source said.
The brand was planning to open stores in India in 2018 and had held discussions with mall developers in Mumbai and the National Capital Region (NCR) earlier this year.
Before that, it had held discussions with apparel major Arvind for a tie up, but had changed its plans to enter India on its own, sources said.
“They met us to open stores but we have not heard anything from them in the past six months. They must be working on applying to the government or preparing the back end,” said a mall executive.
Uniqlo had not signed any non-disclosure agreement with mall owners, he said.
“We have made no announcement regarding plans to enter the Indian market, so I am not able to provide you with the replies you are looking for,” said a Uniqlo spokesperson. The Japanese brand had decided to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary, like H&M, reports said.
Swedish fashion brand, H&M, posted profits in the first six months of its operations in the country. H&M posted a net profit of Rs 1.4 crore on net sales of Rs 194 crore for the period October-March 2016, reports said. H&M, which opened its first store in New Delhi in October 2015, runs 16 stores in the country.
Zara’s joint venture in India, Inditex Trent, posted a 21 per cent jump in sales in 2016-17 to Rs 1,023 crore from Rs 842.5 crore in 2015-16. However, its profit after tax fell to Rs 48 crore from Rs 80 crore in the year-ago period, according to Inditex Trent’s latest annual report.
“It is important for international brands to have a strategy before they enter the market. A tepid entry and just hanging around is not a strategy you can follow in India. If Uniqlo wants to take time to strategise, evaluate the right partner or consider entry on its own, it should be okay,” said Baqar Naqvi, director at Wazir Advisors.