GU to open first overseas flagship store in New York

GU, the Japanese apparel retailer and sister brand of Uniqlo, part of Fast Retailing, is opening its first permanent store outside Asia this autumn in New York.

In a statement, Fast Retailing said it has secured a 10,225-square-foot store in New York’s SoHo district located at 578 Broadway.
The new flagship store will span across two floors and will offer women’s and men’s clothing, as well as a selection of on-trend products, including shoes, bags, and accessories.

This store will replace the pop-up store it has had in SoHo since 2022, which is scheduled to close in the summer.

Osamu Yunoki, chief executive at GU, said: “For about a year and a half since opening our first pop-up store in the US in the fall of 2022, we have been able to provide GU products to many customers, so we have great expectations for our business development in the US.

“We have applied what we learned from the pop-up store to establish a framework for product development and business operations at a global level, and we are extremely pleased to be officially opening a store in the United States this fall. We will also launch our online store at the same time, and hope that even more customers will enjoy GU fashion.”

Fast Retailing opening a permanent GU flagship in the US this autumn

To coincide with the opening, GU added it will launch an online store that will house the same product line-up as the physical store and deliver across the US.

GU pronounced as the letters ‘G’ and ‘U,’ was founded in 2006 to offer more lower-price and trend-driven fashion, compared to its sister brand Uniqlo. It currently operates approximately 470 stores in Asia, mainly in Japan. This is the first official opening of a store outside of Asia.

In September 2023, GU established a product division in New York to promote product development at a global level. To push forward with its international expansion plans, GU added that it is looking to strengthen local recruitment of designers, pattern makers, and other positions to establish the foundation of a product development base.