Uniqlo, which insisted on the 'right to wear clothes,' finally decides to suspend its Russia operations

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Despite withstanding the wave of global companies withdrawing from Russia following Russia's airstrikes on Ukraine, the Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo has finally changed its stance and decided to suspend its local operations.

On the 10th (local time), according to Bloomberg News, Fast Retailing, which operates Uniqlo, announced in a statement that it "condemns all forms of aggression that violate human rights and threaten peace," and made this decision.

Fast Retailing has 50 Uniqlo stores across Russia, the largest number of stores outside Asia. Earlier, on the 7th, Tadashi Yanai, chairman of Fast Retailing, expressed his intention to remain in the Russian market, stating that "clothing is a necessity of life, and Russian people have the right to live just like us."

However, after companies like McDonald's and PepsiCo, which shared a similar stance to Uniqlo, eventually suspended their Russian operations amid global criticism, Fast Retailing also appears to have reversed its position after much deliberation. Bloomberg reported, "Chairman Yanai was in the process of expanding Fast Retailing's presence in Europe and reducing dependence on Japan when Russia launched its attack on Ukraine."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.