Uniqlo owner expects good old days as retail grows fast

Tadashi Yanai, chairman and chief executive officer of Fast Retailing Co., speaks during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. Asia’s largest retailer Fast Retailing sees profits growing slightly beyond analysts’ expectations this fiscal year, driven by a robust recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in the Uniqlo owner’s key China and Japan markets.

TOKYO: Asia’s largest retailer, Fast Retailing Co, is expecting profits to grow slightly beyond analyst expectations this fiscal year, driven by a robust recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in the Uniqlo owner’s key China and Japan markets.

Operating profit will probably be 245 billion yen (US$2.3bil) for the year through August 2021, the Japanese company said in a statement. That compares with the average analyst estimate of 242.4 billion yen compiled by Bloomberg. Sales are seen at 2.2 trillion yen, roughly in line with average analyst expectations of 2.28 trillion.