CHANGING CLOTHES. CHANGING CONVENTIONAL WISDOM. CHANGING THE WORLD.

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1 CHANGING CLOTHES. CHANGING CONVENTIONAL WISDOM. CHANGING THE WORLD.

2 Fast Retailing has the conviction and vision to face the challenge of creating a better world. PARIS Valerie Dassier, Head of E-Commerce and Customer Care, Comptoire des Cottonniers and Princess Tam Tam To become a leader, it s not enough to do it a little bit better. Great leaders see a different reality. LONDON Kate Pierre, Store Manager, Uniqlo UK We are going to be the number one casual clothes company in the world. And we will look to our managers in the company to take on bigger roles in their local countries and abroad. MOSCOW Aleksandr Kurchatov, Store Manager, Uniqlo Your attitude and your smile go a long way. My philosophy is to give people the chance to smile and they will open up. NEW YORK Jennifer Parker, VP Store Management, Theory, NY More than any other retailer, FR empowers people to be the CEOs of their own four walls. They put the onus on the store manager to change themselves and make it the most important role. SAN FRANCISCO Daisuke Tsukakoshi, Director West Coast, Uniqlo USA In the U.S., the home of casual clothing, competition is fierce. We ll need people who are willing to play major roles in opening up this effort. Joanne Lam, Merchandising Director, Uniqlo, Hong Kong and Mainland China I always admired Coco Channel as a kid. She turned around the whole fashion industry of her time. I want to work in a big company that is prepared to make that kind of impact today. HONG KONG SHANGHAI Wei Zhu, Store Manager, Uniqlo Shanghai I want to revolutionize service from this global flagship store. This will involve thoroughly training staff down to the finest details. Uniqlo will never lose sight of the potential of our people. Ken Ong, Store Manager, Uniqlo Malaysia FR interacts with the local communities while enabling people around the globe to enjoy the fun of wearing good quality clothing. We call it glocalization. MALAYSIA Satoru Onoguchi, CEO, Uniqlo Southeast Asia With each article of clothing we sell, we can provide a slice of happiness to the customer. SINGAPORE Mikilindsay Okijima, Director of Public Relations, GU, Japan GU means freedom and liberty. The sound of these English letters is the same as the characters phonetically in Japanese. We want our customers to enjoy fashion freedom. TOKYO Earlene Jayne Reyes, Store Development, Uniqlo Philippines I want to make a difference, not only in my life, but also in other people s lives. At FR, you get to hone your skills at making changes with real impact. PHILIPPINES 2

3 Tadashi Yanai CEO, Fast Retailing Co., LTD I am seeking top-notch talent from around the world to join us at Fast Retailing. We view talented individuals as those who aspire to become true business managers and have an unflagging zest for challenges. A Fast Retailing business manager s job requires effort day in and day out. It necessitates high levels of perseverance, creativity, and ingenuity, and an ability to endure and shine through the rigors of trial and error. We want individuals who can think beyond themselves, and who not only want to contribute to society, but have the will to do so. Do you truly want to create a better society? Individuals who can think in these terms are true business managers. It is an amazing thing when an individual and a company share a dream, and, through persistent work towards seemingly impossible goals, make what at first seemed improbable possible. That is what I consider to be a wonderful job. At Fast Retailing, we have taken it upon ourselves to provide a nurturing environment in which individuals can grow to realize their full potential. We will spare no expense or investment to train and educate our business managers, so they can build a long and rewarding career with us. Fast Retailing is embarking on a period of unprecedented growth. The time is ripe with opportunity, and we intend to maximize that opportunity by using the world s best practices and our policies of Global One and ZEN-IN KEIEI. To do this, we require a large number of talented and motivated business managers who want to and can excel on the world stage. If this describes you, then I hope you will consider joining us, and that we can grow together. 3

4 CHANGE THE WORLD FOR THE BETTER. Changing clothes. Changing conventional wisdom. Changing the world. WORK WITH PURPOSE Our mission: To create truly great clothing with new and unique value, and to enable people all over the world to experience the joy, happiness and satisfaction of wearing such great clothes To enrich people s lives through our unique corporate activities, and to seek to grow and develop our company in unity with society GROW WITH US, CHANGE YOURSELF Fast Retailing is Asia s largest apparel retailer and #4 in the world. With 50% international growth annually, our goal is to be #1 by As a holding company, FR is home to many of the world s leading fashion and apparel brands. As a member of the FR team, you ll have the opportunity to lead this growth globally, gaining experience in a diverse range of roles. We regularly rotate employees across all parts of the globe, and our HR practices support fast career growth with no limits. 4

5 OUR VALUES, CULTURE & HISTORY The FR Way We are building a company for the future and creating a new industry in the process. This requires us to change ourselves first all of us must be effective at a global level. We are looking for global leaders aspiring to become business managers. We are looking for leaders who share our aspiration to change the world for the better and who will work with us to realize positive changes across the world. We want all of our employees to succeed on the global stage. We are developing business managers all around the world people who want to work with purpose. We call this The FR Way. Values Approaching issues from the customer perspective Embracing innovation and challenge Respecting and supporting individuals to foster both corporate and personal growth Committing to ethical standards and correctness Principles ZEN-IN KEIEI This is my company! This mindset, in which every employee perceives himself or herself as a business owner and acts as such, is the very reason Fast Retailing has been able to achieve the success it has today. We call this mindset ZEN-IN KEIEI, meaning all employees maintain a mindset of being a business owner. Practicing this mindset, everyone must seriously consider the customer, and all employees must aspire to create an organization capable of taking immediate action. It signifies all employees working as one to address customer needs, achieve company goals and, even in the most difficult of times, solve the challenges that the company faces. Never blame others. If you truly want to bring innovation to the company to accomplish extraordinary growth, then you must all aspire to think and act like true business owners. Global One Global One refers to using the world s best business practices and methods in the management of all group companies. This means that each individual, each department, and each company in each country must all work with the same global mindset to create the world s most innovative and efficient work environment. In order to do that, all management processes must be unified globally to achieve a level of performance superior to that of any other company in the world. This requires that Fast Retailing be ahead of the most innovative companies in the world, including the world s leading technology corporations. We will become the world s most successful corporate group. We must understand who we are, what we want to be, and where we want to go by appraising the realities of today. Only by doing that can we pursue our ideals into the future. Our History Uniqlo, FR s mainstay brand since 1984, has led the way by offering high-quality casualwear at reasonable prices using its SPA business model, which spans product design, manufacture, distribution and retail. In 1998, our fleece campaign sparked a Uniqlo boom across Japan. Since 2001, Uniqlo has expanded worldwide operations to include the U.K., China, Hong Kong, South Korea, the United States, France, Singapore, Russia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. As of the end of May 2013, we now boast a diverse range of brands, 852 stores in Japan and 410 stores in other markets worldwide. 5

6 WORKING AS A GLOBAL TEAM NEW YORK LONDON MOSCOW Tracey Phipps, General Manager, Uniqlo NJ I went to Japan and trained for three months in the UMC program. Being in Japan, you are able to see what a standard Uniqlo store looks like. My first observation was that I thought everyone working in the store was the manager. There was so much ownership from every associate. FR invests a lot of time in setting the right mindset. The amount of training they put into the people to make sure they are able to work independently, without someone telling them what to do, is unparalleled. Everyone thinks as a business leader. We call it ZEN-IN KEIEI. Basically, it s a willingness to change yourself and change the business. Kate Pierre, Store Manager, Uniqlo UK I enjoy the people management aspect of my job the most. I set up management of the store environment with specific goals assigned to employees at every level of the team. This allows me to see which members have high potential. I evaluate and introduce them to their career paths accordingly. From there, anything is possible. A colleague of mine successfully applied for the Career Challenge program, allowing him to apply for vacancies globally. He has gone from a member of the Store Management team to working in International Merchandising in Japan. He truly has created a career with no limits. Aleksandr Kurchatov, Store Manager, Uniqlo Russia ZEN-IN KEIEI means that, even as a manager, I am open to feedback from every member of my team. So everyone is thinking not simply about his or her responsibilities, but the business as a whole. It can improve the store atmosphere and the entire company. It also empowers me to share new ideas about the business with my supervisors. This is an open atmosphere that helps us grow and become a truly global company that can expand to any market. It s all based in Uniqlo core values and principles. SHANGHAI TOKYO Wei Zhu, Store Manager, Uniqlo China The first time I shopped at Uniqlo, I was deeply impressed by the level of service I received. I made the decision to change jobs and stopped working at a major restaurant chain to sign on with Uniqlo immediately. While training in Japan, I understood that we should treat all people, including other staff members, with kindness and respect. By building trust with each other, staff members can create a great atmosphere in the stores. Customers feel it as soon as they walk in the doors. That s a big part of the FR Way. Koh Boku, Store Manager, GU Tokyo My priority is to support my staff to grow. If they are empowered and well trained, our sales will reflect it. That s why I encourage the other team members to bring their opinions to the table, make their voices heard and raise the level of quality in the store. This way, they can find inspiration in their work every day. The concept or strategy of the GU brand is to make fashion more free. I encourage the same in their ability to share their feedback and ideas. 6

7 LARRY MEYER, CEO, UNIQLO USA As someone who built his name partnering with many of the world s most recognized consumer brands for over three decades, Larry is no stranger to thinking globally. If fact, most of his professional life has focused on working with international teams, which gives him a unique perspective on Fast Retailing s vision for the future and work with purpose. A Global Team I have two goals as part of the Uniqlo team. The first is expanding Uniqlo throughout the U.S. at the rate of stores a year, which offers incredible opportunities. The second is building the team that will support the globalization of Uniqlo in the coming decade. It will be a great day when I can see the people we develop here in the U.S. grow into new positions around the world. Mr. Yanai talks about this diverse group of individuals from any country, any gender, working together to achieve our vision. Make Change If we share a long-term vision of positive change through commerce, the world will be a better place. I believe it is the only means of inspiring real change. Everyone is focused on how we achieve that goal. It s not about I win you win. It s how do we win together. We re building a business together that will make future generations and society better. That s work with purpose. Share Ideas You ll learn something different here as Fast Retailing and Uniqlo continue to evolve. Being part of a Japanese organization creates a dynamic that in many respects is fun. There s push and pull as to what will work in each market. There s an openness here for that conversation. This is an organization that welcomes discussion and suggestion. And that can produce great ideas ideas that will change the way the world works. NEW YORK JENNIFER PARKER, VP OF RETAIL STORES, THEORY As a VP of Retail Stores for Theory s stores, Jennifer describes her role as a one that keeps her in constant motion, from understanding the business in individual stores, to analyzing quarterly sales, to making sure the merchandizing always turns heads. In addition to her passion for Fast Retailing brands, she leverages a knack for reacting to change every day. She is someone who never hesitates to own her own path or encourage her team to think differently. Brand Passion FR supports us to bring our passion to our work and the brands we love. When we dress women and men at Theory, there is such a comfortable ease to it. You feel something in these pieces of clothing. You stand a little taller. You feel more confident. You re going to stand out, not by being flashy in any way, but just because you look that amazing in it. It translates to your everyday life. It puts an extra spring in your step. FR can do this for your career too. I m excited to come to work every day. Turn Heads Together I want people to turn and say, Look what Theory is doing in their stores. It s collaboration. It s not just one person sitting at a desk. I think the best ideas come from bouncing our ideas off of each other. It s what happens in that brainstorm that takes us from A to B to Z. If we can put our minds together to push this business forward, we re going to blow people away. It s one thing to think of an innovative idea. It s another thing to execute it together as a team and change the world. Take Responsibility More than any other retailer, FR empowers people to be the CEOs of their own four walls. They put the responsibility on the store manager and make it the most important role. If you want to be a leader in the company, your training ground is in the stores. The managers understand that the power is in their hands. They control their own business, the P&L, and their staff. I want to empower every store manager to say, I own this business. I can walk into my store with a different perspective every day. That s what we mean when we say change yourself. 7

8 SAN FRANCISCO DAISUKE TSUKAGOSHI, DIRECTOR WEST COAST, UNIQLO USA Daisuke Tsukagoshi started working for Uniqlo in After gaining experience as a store manager, area manager and regional manager, he went to work in the United States as Sales and Store Operations Manager. He handled the opening launch of the New York 34th Street store in 2011 and the San Francisco store in 2012, bringing Fast Retailing values and culture to life. Open to Grow In October 2011, Uniqlo opened stores on Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in New York City within one week of each other. I handled the openings. I was nervous it was a lot pressure. Were the sales floors okay? Was there enough inventory? Would the staff perform like they d been trained? When I went outside before the 34th Street store launch, I saw a line of customers waiting out front, which made me happy. There were about 1,000 customers waiting to get in. Begin Anew After the 34th Street store, I started preparing for the opening of the new San Francisco location, Uniqlo s first store on the U.S. West Coast. We started from scratch I had to handle everything. I negotiated with the construction firm and the logistics company about product deliveries. I recruited and trained staff while working with a marketing company on a project related to the store launch. I truly grew professionally by leaps and bounds. In the U.S., the home of casual clothing, competition is fierce. I want us to get on track as quickly as possible and secure a dominant position in this market. We ll need people who are willing to play major roles in opening up this effort people who are ready to challenge and change conventional wisdom. NEW JERSEY CHRIS STRICKLAND, GENERAL MANAGER, UNIQLO As the General Manager of Uniqlo s flagship store in New Jersey, Chris and his team celebrated their one-year anniversary in the fall of Having previous experience in retail, he describes Fast Retailing as being unlike any other organization. Today, he manages over 100 people working in 43,000 square feet in one of the biggest malls in the world. He has seen firsthand how quickly one can drive and experience change with Fast Retailing. Inspire Ownership When I think about Fast Retailing s goal of becoming the #1 apparel group in the world, one thing becomes immediately clear: to achieve that goal, no one else is going to do it but me. Often in big companies you can imagine that someone else is going to take care of it. We will have 60 stores in the U.S. in the next few years. There is a sense that everything depends on you and your colleagues being ready to rapidly grow with us. We re the ones who are going to make it happen. Changing the whole industry will require nothing less. 8 Dream Big You have to dare to dream, to skip levels and push yourself further. I received feedback from my management team that even my own career path store manager, regional manager, merchandising manager, GM of a global flagship store sounded too realistic. That changed the way I thought about a lot of things. I m not thinking of the position I m going to be doing next year. I m thinking of the one I ll do in five. I need a turbo button for training and developing people just to fill the positions I will be exiting. Be More than a Number Watching people grow is the most inspirational part of my work as a General Manager. When I see someone manage a situation they have never approached before, and do it well, I feel inspired. At FR, we identify each individual s strengths and natural passions, then give them the responsibilities they need to develop. The numbers of the sales and profits serve as tools to measure more than just business growth. They serve as a means to track how well we are developing our people and the growth of individual potential.

9 YUTARO NAKAI, STORE MANAGER, PLST (THEORY BRAND) Nakai started in a temporary role at PLST, becoming an official employee mid career. Participating in the LINK Theory training and store manager training for mid- and seniorlevel managers gave him the comprehensive skills required to become a true leader. As a Store Manager for PLST, he s learned more than just business acumen, but how to transform himself and grow his team with Fast Retailing s supportive HR practices. Use Your Voice One of the things I learned in the LINK Theory training is how to speak to people effectively. When I joined the company, I was the only male on staff. I had to consider how I select words and communicate in a new way. This was key to inspiring my team, but it is especially important for our customers. When you think about communication, you discover that the person you are speaking to is mirroring what you are feeling. If you look down, they will look down. If you look cheerful, they will look cheerful. It has a big effect. Your words and voice can have the same effect. As I grow my team and work with our customers, I am actually learning better ways to interact with people. Become a Leader Everyone is a business leader in this company. That s one of our most basic principles (ZEN-EN KEIEI). But I do not simply discuss profits and losses with my team. What I like to communicate is that your store is like a home. And the staff is like a family. The more we make it a family, the more our customers will love our brand, our products and our quality of service. TOKYO We listen to our customers feedback and even allow it to define certain elements of the product. That is unique. Our staff walks side by side with our customers lifestyle. If everyone thinks of our customers that way, we will become #1. MIKILINDSAY OKIJIMA, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS, GU, JAPAN Wordsmith. Marketer. Brand ambassador. Ms. Okijima previously worked for an ad agency before joining Fast Retailing to work on the GU brand. She is focused on driving marketing that directly impacts the company s ability to generate revenue and promoting trendsetting fashion. GU is just one example of the dynamic brands born in the FR family that are rapidly changing everything. Fashion Freedom We are giving birth to a new brand: GU means freedom and liberty. The sound of these English letters is the same as the words or characters phonetically in Japanese. It could be defined as fashion. But when we think about our brand, to us, it s much more. We are applying details, including the attention to quality and excitement. We want to create something brand new. It s beyond fashion. It s an experience of personal freedom, expression and fun. We want to make this experience accessible to as many people as possible. Change Yourself My work allows me to realize my self. I want to have an occupation that allows me to make an impact on society. To do this, I am constantly refining my own abilities and will stop at nothing to deliver my best. I want to energize the younger generation. By enjoying earning money and buying clothing they love, they make a contribution to the Japanese economy. We re invigorating society as a whole, generating more revenue, and contributing back to the people. We want to be a driver of the Japanese economy. And hopefully, this ripples to the rest of the global economy with stores around the world. 9

10 HONG KONG JOANNE LAM, MERCHANDISING DIRECTOR, UNIQLO, HONG KONG & MAINLAND CHINA Joanne was born and raised in Hong Kong, arguably one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. She majored in fashion design as an undergrad, but gained her MBA at the University of Wales, Cardiff Business School. She made a name for herself in fashion merchandising with some of the world s most recognized brands. Working at Uniqlo gives her the freedom to bring all her talents, and her global perspective, to a much bigger playing field one without limits. Big Ambitions When I was just a kid, I always admired Coco Channel. She was such an extraordinary dresser. She turned around the whole fashion industry of her time. I want to work in a big company that is prepared to make that kind of impact. Other companies don t have the vision to become the world s #1 retail apparel group. With Mr. Yanai s ambition, anything is possible. Continue to Grow Originally, I worked in fashion buying. Here, I can contribute to other business areas without limitations. I m heading a Visual Merchandising department, leading window design and even selecting outfits for the mannequins. It is more of a creative role, one in which I can make use of all my abilities. Opening our flagship store in Hong Kong, I had the freedom to share my own understanding of the brand. I will join the Japanese merchandising team in New York, contributing to the clothing development process for the first time. Change Fabric HEATTECH, Ultra-light Down and Airism are products that changed the industry. Other companies have similar clothing. But none of them have made such an impact in the market. In Hong Kong, it never gets colder than 13 C (55 F). We still sell the Ultra-light down product, even in August. It s so easy to wear. You can even wear it when its 15. The appearance and performance are changing the way people think and dress. 10

11 PARIS VALERIE DASSIER, HEAD OF E-COMMERCE AND CUSTOMER CARE, COMPTOIR DES COTONNIERS / PRINCESS TAM TAM Entrepreneur. Business owner. Experienced retailer for over 17 years. As a member of Fast Retailing Management and Innovation Center (FRMIC), Valerie traveled to a unique business leaders program at the IMD in Lucerne, Switzerland. Valerie is no stranger to the responsibilities that come with freedom and ownership and a sense of purpose. Innovate Training I belong to FRMIC. It is an amazing way to understand Mr. Yanai s vision. I was asked to participate in an experimental 2-year MBA program at the IMD in Lucerne, which is the most important business school in Europe. Fast Retailing asked IMD to offer this program. Business professionals from the world s largest companies participated. It was lifechanging everything went toward creating stronger leadership. FR gives me the training and freedom to define my own path, change myself, and develop my own business. The spirit of Mr. Yanai s goals inspires individuals who assume responsibility. For an entrepreneur like me, it s the only way to work. This is how we will anticipate customer needs for the future. LONDON Create New Markets It s very important to balance the operational piece in business with the creative piece in order to envision our future. I opened an e-commerce website in China for Comptoire des Cottonniers and Princess Tam Tam, creating a new product that will open a whole new business and generate over a million euros. This is something that is totally different than the initial challenge presented to us. But we discovered a great opportunity in the process of trying to solve a problem. I have to think constantly outside the box. This is how I approach everything. This is the best way to become a leader. It s not enough to do it a little bit better. Great leaders see a different reality. HARINDER BAINS, AREA MANAGER, UNIQLO UK What s possible when you truly believe the sky is the limit? You can experience fast career growth, from being a part-time Customer Advisor, to Assistant Manager, to Store Manager, to General Manager opening the UK Flagship store on Oxford Street in London. Harinder s path is uniquely her own. Now, she is an Area Manager for Uniqlo UK and Star Store Manager on Regent Street. But she won t stop there. Become Number One Fast Retailing has very big dreams to become number one in the world. It is truly becoming global, from Tokyo to the world. To achieve this, new opportunities are open to everyone. You just need to reach out and grab them. My ambition is to become CEO of Europe! That s a long-term goal, of course. But anything is possible. I am hoping to gain as much expertise as possible now, so that I am able to fulfill that goal to the best of my ability in the future. Drive Results My motivation is my team. Only through my team will I be able to achieve great results. A happy team equals happy customers, along with an inspiring shop floor and stellar sales! To date, my store is achieving a sales average of 105% against the target and 135% profit against the target. As for staff promotion, in the space of 3 months, the store has promoted successful Supervisors to Assistant Manager level and one Assistant Manager to Store Manager. Make Opportunities for All There are no limitations here. Everyone who works for FR is encouraged to think as a business owner regardless of any differences from ethnic background, country of origin, gender, race, age, etc. The best employees treat this like their own business, take action, see the results, and reap the rewards. There is no saying how far someone can go. If you want to run your own business, FR is for you! 11

12 SINGAPORE SATORU ONOGUCHI, CEO, UNIQLO SOUTHEAST ASIA Business leader. Game changer. Onoguchi started working at Uniqlo in After gaining experience as an area manager, he worked at Uniqlo University, then went on to launch and run Uniqlo s operations in Singapore and Malaysia. He s found his professional home at Fast Retailing changing conventional wisdom. Change Perspectives Working with Uniqlo presents new opportunities to change perceptions, especially when opening a new store in a new market such as Singapore. During a video conference with the Tokyo office, I mentioned that I wanted to sell HEATTECH as a featured product. Everyone immediately objected, arguing that nobody would wear such items in 30 C temperatures in Singapore a place where it s always summer. Finally, I called President Yanai at his house. Maybe he liked my conviction I m not sure. But in the end, I got the OK to include winter clothing, as long as it made up no more than half of the product mix. The moment HEATTECH, fleece, and Ultra Light Down items went on sale, they started flying off the shelves. We didn t have enough stock. I had to ship product in by plane from Japan. Why did winter clothing sell so well in a hot climate? The answer was pent-up demand from travelers and people going on holiday. Singapore is only about as geographically big as Tokyo s 23 central wards. If you leave that small area, you are on an overseas trip, often with colder climates. Spread Happiness As a manager, when I look at Uniqlo s operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, there is one policy that I particularly value. We don t want to just sell articles of clothing. We don t want to just become a popular brand. We want the company to be an enterprise that people in the local community feel they need. No matter how big Uniqlo gets, it won t change its determination to provide exceptional quality in every item and superior service for every customer. With each article of clothing we sell, we can provide a slice of happiness to the customer who bought it. Bit by bit, we can contribute to the overall happiness of Southeast Asia s 600 million people. This is a vision I intend to achieve. This is work with purpose. 12

13 DEVELOPING BUSINESS LEADERS FAST RETAILING MANAGEMENT AND INNOVATION CENTER (FRMIC) FRMIC stands for Fast Retailing Management and Innovation Center. The Center s goal is to train and develop 200 upper managerial-class individuals. This is the number of upper-level managers needed if the company is to realize its corporate goal of five trillion yen in sales by Selected from among employees around the globe, trainees engage in passionate discussion regarding the future of the FR Group. FRMIC is different from a business school where students simply study corporate management. The Center is a place where each trainee is required to think in detail as a manager about the challenges facing the FR Group as it grows into an enterprise with annual sales of five trillion yen. Take, for example, digital marketing: On this topic, participants do not simply discuss issues such as how best to utilize the web. They have to go further, envisioning what form the retail business will take as it morphs into a virtual/brick-and-mortar hybrid. Based on this scenario, participants need to develop, seriously debate, and implement projects. Everything they learn, teach, and put into practice while at FRMIC will effect change throughout the company. The ideas and practices coming out of here are a source of dynamism for the company worldwide. That is the type of presence the center has established. Our future business leaders experience will match the truly global nature of FR Group. As we continue to expand within every market, rotations and opportunities to work internationally will be critical to their development and their impact. 13

14 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FAST RETAILING S SOCIAL BUSINESS IN BANGLADESH Fast Retailing and the Grameen Bank Group s Grameen Healthcare Trust established a new wholly-owned subsidiary to launch a social business in Bangladesh. This initiative focuses on addressing social problems in the country, as well as issues related to poverty, sanitation and education, by planning, producing and selling clothing. The FR Group s greatest strength is its ability to efficiently produce and sell high-quality clothing at low prices. The social business will leverage the FR Group s strengths in these areas by using business to change society for the better. EXPANSION OF THE ALL-PRODUCT RECYCLING INITIATIVE Fast Retailing s All-Product Recycling Initiative is about more than simply collecting and distributing clothing to refugees and survivors of natural disasters. It also provides internships for refugees at Uniqlo stores in Japan, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its Global Partnership Program. FR also works with a range of educational institutions to promote efforts to reuse and recycle clothing. SUPPORT FOR REFUGEES Fast Retailing started addressing international refugee issues in 2006, in line with its FR Way corporate philosophy, which compels the FR Group and its employees, as global citizens, to act with a sense of integrity and conduct business in an ethical manner. In cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), FR provides assistance to displaced people throughout the world by donating clothing collected through its All-Product Recycling Initiative. Of course, there are limits to what FR can do to address the many issues that refugees face, but it firmly believes that every tiny bit of assistance is a step in the right direction. CLOTHES FOR SMILES As a professional tennis player and Uniqlo Global brand ambassador, Novak Djokovic leads Clothes for Smiles. The Clothes for Smiles project, developed by UNIQLO and Djokovic, is based on a fund of $10 million (U.S.) raised from the sale of HEATTECH and Ultra-Light Down products, with the aim of bringing hopes and dreams to children s futures. $5 million (U.S.) of this fund supports UNICEF educational projects in three Asian countries Bangladesh, China and the Philippines as part of UNICEF s Schools for Asia Initiative. The remaining funds will be applied toward eight winning charity ideas submitted to Uniqlo and Novak for judging and selection: Education Everywhere, e-education, Girls Soccer Project, Children s Library Project, Social Inclusion by Shopping, Waku Work Center, Uniqlo Dream Wall and Children s Hospice. 14

15 Fast Retailing Brands Theory was founded by Andrew Rosen in New York City in 1997 as a brand that appealed to the modern woman. The Theory concept is to create basic, fashionable clothes to suit a contemporary lifestyle. The stretch fabric used in Theory clothes fits well and creates a beautiful silhouette. In addition to the Theory brand, Link Theory Japan Co., Ltd. also boasts labels such as Theory Luxe, Theory Men, HELMUT LANG and PLST. GU stands for fashion freedom. The GU brand develops fashionable apparel at amazingly low prices, harnessing UNIQLO s many years of experience as an SPA (Specialty-store retailer of Private-label Apparel). As a result, GU has become a full-fledged apparelmaking business, from product planning through design and manufacture, inventory control and production adjustment, all the way to store operation. The Comptoir des Cotonniers (CDC) women s fashion brand emerged from boutiques that opened in 1995 in Paris, and in Toulouse in the south of France. CDC, a uniquely inspired brand known for its quality fabrics and sharp silhouettes, designs timeless collections full of French esprit for the modern woman. CDC promotes fun fashion by drawing out the different facets of an individual woman s personality. Princesse tam.tam (PTT) is a French corsetry, lounge wear and swimwear brand. After winning acclaim in 1985 for lingerie that featured original prints and bright colors, the sisters Loumia and Sharma Hiridjee opened their first store in the Montparnasse area of Paris in The brand concept of lingerie that presents women as they are continues to appeal. J Brand is a leading contemporary fashion company with significant experience in women s and men s apparel, particularly in the denim category. Founded in 2004 by Jeff Rudes, Chief Executive Officer, the company has developed a variety of unique denim fits and fabrications. Today, J Brand is well-recognized for its minimal yet sophisticated product design, beautiful silhouette and perfect fit. To ensure the development of products of exceptional quality, UNIQLO has refined its SPA (Specialty-store retailer of Private-label Apparel) business model, allowing for control of the entire business process from planning and design to material procurement and sales. UNIQLO is continuously developing products of exceptional quality, in order to create clothing with new and unique value and to satisfy customers worldwide. 15

16 WORK WITH US: uniqlo.com/us/uniqlo-careers