Uniqlo slips further behind Zara as Asia vaccine drives stumble

Reopening of Western economies spurs divergence in market value

Uniqlo has struggled in Southeast Asia and Japan while the company behind Zara has turned earnings around thanks to eased economic restrictions in its main markets. (Source photos from Uniqlo and Zara)

KEIICHI FURUKAWA, MINORU SATAKE and BUMPEI MATSUKAWA, Nikkei staff writers

June 10, 2021 04:39 JST

TOKYO/LONDON -- After briefly pulling ahead of Zara this year in terms of market value, Uniqlo has fallen well behind the European fast fashion leader as vaccinated individuals in Western economies refresh their wardrobes for post-lockdown life.

The market capitalization of Uniqlo's Japanese parent company, Fast Retailing, totaled just over 8.7 trillion yen ($79.4 billion) as of Wednesday, well behind the roughly 100 billion euros ($121 billion) for Zara's Spanish parent Inditex.