Japanese apparel giant Uniqlo is aggressively betting on India’s retail potential, projecting 30-40% year-on-year growth for FY 26-27.
The company currently operates 19 stores across the country and plans to expand to 30 outlets in the near future, focusing heavily on southern India markets.
India’s apparel market is projected to reach USD 115 billion by late 2026, growing at a rapid 10-12% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2024 to 2030, making it one of the fastest-growing large-scale markets globally.
Uniqlo’s India revenue is projected to reach INR 1,675 crore in FY 26, following 44% growth that crossed INR 1,175 crore in FY25, positioning it as the fastest-growing global fashion retailer in India entering this new expansion phase.
Among competitors, H&M India is projected to reach INR 3,500 crore revenue by FY26, operating 64 stores, while Zara is expected to secure INR 2,950 crore with 21 stores in the same period.
Among India’s domestic retail giants, Zudio has emerged as the fastest-growing fast fashion brand, expanding to 963 stores across 313 cities in FY26 after adding 198 new outlets, with revenue projected to reach INR 5,500 crore.
Westside, its premium sibling, has consolidated to 300 stores with projected revenue of INR 1,200 crore for FY26, while Reliance Trends operates over 2,117 stores across 1,286 cities with estimated annual revenue of INR 8,500 crore.
Max Fashion, operated by Aditya Birla Group’s Future Fashion, maintains approximately 500 stores with projected FY26 revenue of INR 4,200 crore, and EasyBuy, focusing on value retail, operates 103 locations primarily in Tamil Nadu and Kerala with estimated revenue of INR 850 crore for the fiscal year.
Uniqlo is projected to maintain the highest average revenue per store at ₹140 crore by FY26, compared to Zara’s ₹56 crore and H&M’s ₹53 crore, while the retailer aims to triple India revenue to ₹3,000 crore over the next two to three years while doubling local sourcing to 30% moving forward.
Kenji Inoue, Uniqlo India’s Chief Operating Officer, emphasized that India is extremely central to their future growth strategy while noting that current market share remains under 2% with huge room for forward growth ahead in the coming years.
Editors Note
Uniqlo’s strategic pivot toward India represents a calculated forward-looking move in the global fashion retail landscape, where the company sees tenfold market share expansion potential available in this rapidly growing market going forward for FY26-27.
The decision to expand heavily into southern India, particularly with new large-scale stores in cities like Bengaluru spanning 21,000 sq ft, reflects Uniqlo’s forward-looking understanding of regional climate preferences where their AIRism cooling fabrics and Heattech collections are projected to gain significant 15% demand traction among tech-savvy young professionals.
This southward expansion marks a transition from the traditional north-India-centric model of the likes of Zara and H&M to a broader national presence capturing demand within major Tier-I metropolitan hubs.
As online sales are expected to expand at approximately 40% annually and e-commerce is projected to soar 140%, Uniqlo’s proprietary digital platform serving 17,000 pin codes positions them to capture larger share of the country’s growing affluent demographic entering the retail market forward through FY26.
Discover more from Retail Updates
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
