Uniqlo Owner Fast Retailing to Open first GU Discount Clothing Store in US

The store will open in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. Reuters file photo
The store will open in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. Reuters file photo
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Uniqlo Owner Fast Retailing to Open first GU Discount Clothing Store in US

The store will open in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. Reuters file photo
The store will open in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. Reuters file photo

Japan's Fast Retailing, the owner of global clothing chain Uniqlo, said on Thursday it would open its first discount brand GU store in the United States this autumn.

The store will open in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City in what will be the brand's debut outside of the Asian market, Fast Retailing said in a statement.

The company has opened about 450 GU outlets since 2006, mostly in Japan. Fast Retailing is planning an aggressive growth strategy across North America, a market that has become increasingly important as sales in China suffer from ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns.



Shein Reportedly Files for Hong Kong IPO to Save London Listing

FILE PHOTO: A view of a Shein pop-up store at a mall in Singapore April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of a Shein pop-up store at a mall in Singapore April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo/File Photo
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Shein Reportedly Files for Hong Kong IPO to Save London Listing

FILE PHOTO: A view of a Shein pop-up store at a mall in Singapore April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of a Shein pop-up store at a mall in Singapore April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo/File Photo

China-founded fast-fashion retailer Shein has filed for an IPO in Hong Kong to accelerate the listing process and pressure Britain's regulators to approve its planned London debut, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

The company privately filed a draft prospectus last week with Hong Kong's exchange and sought a regulatory nod from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Shein did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The company filed for a Hong Kong listing partly to pressure the UK regulator into easing its risk disclosure rules and to keep alive for what could be London's biggest IPO in years, the FT report added.

Reuters first reported in June that Shein was planning to file a draft prospectus confidentially for its Hong Kong listing, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter.

Reuters also reported in May, citing sources, that Shein was working towards a listing in Hong Kong after its proposed London IPO failed to secure the green light from Chinese regulators.

If UK's Financial Conduct Authority is willing to accept a CSRC-approved prospectus, London would still be Shein’s preferred exchange, the FT report said, adding that chances were still slim, given that the regulators’ requirements were still wide apart.