This autumn, GU, the sibling brand of Uniqlo and a Japanese garment shop owned by Fast Retailing, will launch its first permanent location outside of Asia in New York.
Fast Retailing announced in a statement that it has acquired a 10,225-square-foot store at 578 Broadway in the SoHo neighbourhood of New York. The new flagship shop will have two floors and sell clothing for both men and women in addition to a variety of trendy items including purses, shoes, and accessories.
The pop-up shop it has operated in SoHo since 2022 will be replaced by this location; it is expected to close in the summer.
Osamu Yunoki, chief executive at GU, said, “For about a year and a half since opening our first pop-up store in the US in the fall of 2022, we have been able to provide GU products to many customers, so we have great expectations for our business development in the US.”
In addition, GU said that it will operate an online store with the same product lineup as the physical location, with nationwide delivery, in time for the opening.
GU pronounced as the letters ‘G’ and ‘U,’ was founded in 2006 to offer more lower-price and trend-driven fashion, compared to its sister brand Uniqlo. At the moment, it runs about 470 stores throughout Asia, mostly in Japan. This is the store’s first formal opening outside of Asia.
