Home market: Stronger quarter yet harder year ahead Uniqlo Japan saw nine-month revenue rise 8.3 per cent to 867.6 billion yen and business profit climbed 15.1 per cent to 172.9 billion yen. Third-quarter same-store sales jumped 9.9 per cent, powered by trend-led silhouette bottoms and functional pieces that met the swings of an erratic spring, with Golden Week and the Thank You Festival adding promotional lift.  Chief financial officer Takeshi Okazaki was unusually blunt about the yen, which has slid to levels last seen roughly four decades ago, conceding that the situation is becoming “increasingly difficult.” The company’s response is a roughly 4 per cent price increase on selected autumn and winter merchandise in Japan, and it has already pencilled in lower fourth-quarter sales and profit at home. Greater China: Shrink-to-grow starts paying When Mainland China sales sagged through fiscal 2024 and 2025, Fast Retailing closed underperforming stores, replaced small formats with larger, better-located ones, and rebuilt local merchandising and marketing. This quarter, Mainland China returned to same-store sales growth with double-digit profit gains, helped by warm May weather that moved easy pants, UV items and UT graphic T-shirts. Hong Kong and Taiwan added higher revenue and profit on demand-catching products such as Mini T-shirts and Barrel Jeans. With 875 stores on the mainland at the end of May, the market remains Uniqlo’s largest overseas store network.  International: The second engine  Uniqlo International is doing most of the heavy lifting. Nine-month revenue reached 1.83 trillion yen, up 25.9 per cent, while business profit surged 45.4 per cent to 345.3 billion yen. In the third quarter alone, the segment’s business profit margin widened by 3.6 percentage points. Nine-month revenue across South Korea, Southeast Asia, India and Australia reached 617.6 billion yen, up more than 30 per cent from a year earlier and now a fifth of group sales. South Korea grew revenue and profit at double-digit rates in the quarter, with a global flagship opened in Seoul’s Myeongdong shopping district. The Western operations remain Uniqlo’s smallest regional businesses with North America at 8.7 per cent of revenue, Europe at 12.6 per cent. North America posted double-digit gains as six stores opened in the quarter, including a Chicago flagship and large formats in New York and Boston. Europe’s revenue climbed 40 per cent over nine months to 387.4 billion yen, driven by new stores, including first outposts in Bristol and Utrecht, and strong response to linen shirts and trend-inflected year-round pieces. The portfolio’s edges: GU repaired, Global Brands adrift Uniqlo’s sister brand GU grew nine-month revenue only 3.7 per cent to 265.6 billion yen but expanded business profit 28 per cent to 32.1 billion yen. The company said it has essentially borrowed Uniqlo’s operating discipline while keeping its fashion metabolism.  By contrast, Global Brands saw revenue fell 4.2 per cent to 96.3 billion yen and business profit contracted by a third to 1.9 billion yen. Theory’s revenue declined as wholesale shrank worldwide and a cool early season dampened summer sales, though reduced discounting in the US lifted its profit. The stock has climbed roughly 50 per cent since early January. Fast Retailing itself flagged a softer June, rising fourth-quarter cost ratios and the yen’s drag. Further reading: How Fast Retailing’s results show the business case for ‘essential’ fashion.