Uniqlo headhunts managers in Southeast Asia, India for store expansion

In the past two months, Uniqlo’s parent company Fast Retailing has been sending staff to Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines to meet with students and university directors to discuss partnerships.

The company has been accelerating recruitment in South and Southeast Asia because of a practical need for more human resources there, its chief adviser Noriaki Koyama told Nikkei Asia.

“These regions have great potential for future development, and we will be able to find very talented people there,” said Koyama, who is in charge of human resource strategy.

Fast Retailing has been setting up many new stores in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania. As of February, it had 367 stores in those areas, up 14% from 2023. It now operates 13 stores in India and plans to have 28-30 outlets in next three years.

To find potential managers, the company now partners with more than 40 universities in Asia and Oceania to organize internships at local offices and stores. In the fiscal 2023 (which ended in August), it hired 1,100 new graduates globally.

It also seeks to be competitive in terms of compensation. “We are adjusting the pay scale for our store employees to be among the best in each country, not only in the local retail industry but also in other industries,” said Koyama.

Around 56% of Fast Retailing management positions are given to non-Japanese staff. The company targets to bring the figure to 80% by 2030.