Global apparel retailer UNIQLO will open its second Winnipeg store next month, expanding its presence in Manitoba with a new location at St. Vital Centre.
The company said the 15,000-square-foot store will open at 10 a.m. on Aug. 21 and will carry its LifeWear apparel for men, women, children and babies, along with seasonal collaborations and UT graphic T-shirt collections.
The opening marks UNIQLO’s second location in Winnipeg as the retailer continues to expand its Canadian footprint. The company said it now operates 38 stores across Canada in addition to its online business.
UNIQLO said the new St. Vital Centre location will launch with a series of community-focused events throughout its opening weekend.
The first 300 customers in line before the store opens will receive complimentary strawberry-matcha crullers from Crumb Queen and Maro Matcha lattes beginning at 9:10 a.m. A taiko drumming performance by Fukubiki Daiko is scheduled for 9:40 a.m., followed by opening speeches and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:50 a.m. before the store opens to customers at 10 a.m.
The retailer also plans to offer limited in-store promotions and an exclusive gift with purchase during the opening weekend.
Customers visiting the store will also be able to participate in the UNIQLO Garapon Wheel, a Japanese lottery game featuring a range of prizes. According to the company, prizes will include Bluetooth speakers, Maro Matcha products, branded UNIQLO lunch bags, Le Croissant gift cards and Hello Panda snacks.
UNIQLO said the St. Vital store will stock the company’s latest LifeWear apparel collection across its men’s, women’s, children’s and baby categories, in addition to seasonal collaborations and UT graphic T-shirt collections.
The retailer said it opened its first store in Hiroshima in 1984 and has since grown to more than 2,500 stores worldwide.
The company describes LifeWear as clothing designed for everyday use.
“LifeWear is clothing that is made for all, designed to make everyone’s life better. It is simple, high quality, everyday clothing with a practical sense of beauty – ingenious in detail, thought through with life’s needs in mind, timeless in style, and always evolving.”
UNIQLO is part of Tokyo-based Fast Retailing Co. Ltd., which operates eight apparel brands. In addition to UNIQLO, the group includes GU, Theory, PLST, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse tam.tam, J Brand and Helmut Lang.
The company said Fast Retailing operates more than 3,500 stores across its brands globally, while UNIQLO accounts for more than 2,500 locations in Japan, Asia, Europe and North America.
Fast Retailing said it continues to pursue international expansion through the opening of large-format stores in major cities and key retail locations.
The company said its corporate statement is committed to “changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom, change the world,” and that it is dedicated to creating clothing with “new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere.”
Aurora Retail Group‘s Jeff Berkowitz, Co-CEO of the firm, has represented Uniqlo in Canada since the brand entered the country in 2016. He has negotiated every Uniqlo lease nationwide, playing a central role in site selection, landlord negotiations, and long term market strategy.
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