한국 유니클로: 패스트리테일링과 롯데쇼핑의 합작 투자

Uniqlo, a Japanese casual apparel brand, is famous for its low price, relatively high quality, and basic and simple design targeted at consumers of all ages. It is the world’s third largest SPA brand. In 2002, Lotte Shopping Co., one of Korea’s largest retailers, came into contact with Fast Retailing Co. which owns Uniqlo to set up a joint venture. Lotte Shopping’s goals were to diversify into mass-market casual apparel and to maintain steady growth of its sales. Fast Retailing, which was aggressively pursuing global expansion, accepted Lotte’s offer. In the negotiation for joint venture formation, critical issues such as equity ratio and sales fee were raised, and caused some problems. In the end, these conflicts were resolved, and Fast Retailing (FRL) Korea was established in 2005. Uniqlo was an immediate success in Korea. The management of FRL Korea combined the competitive advantage of two partners-low cost structure, quality management system, and distribution management skills of Fast Retailing as well as local knowledge and financial resource of Lotte Shopping. During the economic recession of 2008 to 2011, the sales of Uniqlo increased even more sharply thanks to its low price. It now seeks to become the number one apparel company in Korea. Readers can learn about the success factors of an international joint venture, and glocalization strategy of a global apparel brand.