By Ting Ting Ng (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-11-06 14:17

Fast Retailing Co, Asia's biggest clothing retailer, plans to operate 200 Uniqlo stores on the mainland and Hong Kong in five years, with the country set to overtake Japan as its largest sales generator by 2017.

About 80 percent of the stores will be on the mainland, Senior Vice-President Tiger Pan Ning said.

Fast Retailing already has five stores in Hong Kong and 10 on the mainland.

The casual clothing chain is tapping the world's fastest growing major economy as sales stall in its home market, Japan, which accounts for about 90 percent of total revenue. Fast Retailing's sales from China will double every year to about 7 billion yuan by 2012, Pan said.

"Sales growth in Japan is very limited as the population is shrinking," Pan, who is also the managing director of the Uniqlo Hong Kong unit, had said earlier. "The group is shifting focus to Asia, especially China, as the booming middle class drives up spending."

China's retail sales and economy have grown at more than 10 percent since March 2006, with the nation expected to overtake Germany as the world's third biggest economy this year. Japan's retail sales increased 0.5 percent in August and September year-on-year.

Fast Retailing is following other retailers such as Wal- Mart Stores Inc, Carrefour SA and Japan's Aeon Co in seeking to boost revenue by expanding in China.

Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, aims to more than double its 84 stores in China over the next five years. Carrefour, Europe's largest, aims to add 25 outlets a year from a current total of about 100.

Aeon, Japan's second biggest retailer, plans to invest up to 15 billion yuan to establish 100 outlets in China by 2012.