What we know about Japan’s Uniqlo opening five stores in Texas

Japanese apparel retailer Uniqlo will open five stores in Texas — two in Houston and three in Dallas-Fort Worth — this year, saying it’s already measured demand from Texans.

The area stores will be in Galleria Dallas, Frisco’s Stonebriar Centre and The Parks Mall at Arlington, bringing a fresh concept to Texans as the local malls try to emerge stronger from the pandemic. The two other Texas stores will open in Houston’s Memorial City Mall and Sugar Land’s First Colony Mall. At the same time, Uniqlo announced six new stores in California.

“We have seen positive customer demand” from Texas with strong interest from online shoppers, said Yoshihide Shindo, Uniqlo USA CEO. Stores will open in time for fall and winter shopping.

Texas is UNIQLO’s third largest e-commerce market behind New York and California, which each have had stores for several years. It is the highest e-commerce market without an existing store.

The brand will bring its merchandise to match the lifestyles and climates throughout Houston and Dallas, Shindo said.

Uniqlo was the only one among the original fast fashion retailers that wasn’t yet in Texas. Spain’s Mango opened in Galleria last year and in Stonebriar this year.

The Japanese retailer has had a smaller rollout in the U.S. and Canada with only 74 Uniqlo stores so far since it opened in New York in 2005. It joins H&M, Zara and Forever 21, which each have multiple stores in Texas and over the years along with Old Navy, TJ Maxx and more recently China’s e-commerce brand Shein took market share away from traditional U.S. department stores.

Uniqlo said its North American operations turned a profit in 2022 and grew significantly in 2023. It’s stepping up its expansion and said it plans to have 200 stores in North America by 2027.

According to planning documents filed with the state, the Houston and Sugar Land stores will open first in September. Memorial City store is the largest at 21,647 square feet. The Sugar Land store will be similar to the Stonebriar and The Parks stores at 11,454 square feet.

The Galleria store is 19,898 square feet and is expected to be ready in October, according to planning documents filed with the state. Uniqlo will be on levels one and two, next to Mango, according to a Galleria spokeswoman.

The Stonebriar store is smaller at 11,832 square feet and is also expected to open in October.

The Parks store is 12,490 square feet and will open later, by the end of the year, according to state filing made earlier this year. Uniqlo confirmed on Friday the Arlington location, which had been previously reported.

Uniqlo says it makes clothing that’s designed for everyday life from puffer jackets to performance fabric T-shirts. It also collaborates with designers on collections. Most recently its round, mini shoulder bag in several fashion colors and priced at $19.90 went viral.

Uniqlo has 2,400 stores worldwide and was founded in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1984 as a unisex casual clothing brand with the name Unique Clothing Warehouse. It now makes men’s, women’s and children’s apparel.

New Uniqlo stores opening in 2024:

Texas:

• Galleria Dallas
• The Parks Mall at Arlington
• Stonebriar Centre, Frisco
• Memorial City Mall, Houston
• First Colony Mall, Sugar Land

California:

• Arden Fair, Sacramento
• Westfield Galleria at Roseville, Sacramento
• Westfield UTC, San Diego
• Westfield Century City, Los Angeles
• Westfield Fashion Square, Sherman Oaks
• Westfield Oakridge, San Jose

X: @MariaHalkias

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