February 28, 2012, Tokyo, Japan – UNIQLO today
announces the launch of its next phase of assistance to the revitalization of
communities in the Tohoku Region that were most affected by the Great East
Japan Earthquake that struck on March 11, 2011. Under this project, known as
the UNIQLO Recovery Assistance Project, the company will partner with five NGOs
for three years and open new stores in the hardest-hit communities.
Fast
Retailing Group companies led by UNIQLO have been actively working with
affected local communities since soon after the disaster struck, donating funds
and relief supplies, as well as sending volunteer staff to distribute clothes
to people in need. Working directly with these communities over the last year
has given UNIQLO a clear understanding of their immediate needs and hopes for
the future. The UNIQLO Recovery Assistance Project was shaped by this
experience. Through this project, UNIQLO aims to provide long-term support to
communities in need and make a contribution to revitalizing Japan.
Recovery
Assistance Project Overview
UNIQLO will work with five NGOs to support programs in devastated
communities in prefectures such as Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima. The focus of
these programs is to help these communities rebuild, create employment and
become independent of aid. With this in mind, UNIQLO will open temporary stores
in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture and Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture --- two of the
hardest-hit communities. UNIQLO will also reopen a store in the Haramachi district
of Minamisoma in Fukushima Prefecture which was temporarily closed following
the March 11 disaster.
NGO Partnerships
UNIQLO is committed to contributing a total of 300 million yen (around
3.7 million USD) to NGOs working on the ground to help devastated communities
rebuild and become self-sufficient. Each of UNIQLO’s five NGO partners will
receive around 20 million yen a year for three years. A portion of sales at all
UNIQLO stores in Japan in March 2012 will be donated to this Project. UNIQLO is
also offering customers the opportunity to directly participate by launching a
three-month donation drive at all UNIQLO stores in Japan, starting March 1. In
addition, UNIQLO and the Fast Retailing Group are planning to offer employees
opportunities to work as volunteers at partner NGOs.
UNIQLO’s partner organizations:
・
JEN
・ ADRA Japan（Adventist
Development and Relief Agency Japan）
・ Specified Non-Profit Organization International Volunteer
Center of YAMAGATA
・ PlaNet Finance Japan
・ Tohoku
Relationship Capitals
Store Openings
While visiting disaster areas to distribute clothes,
UNIQLO volunteers were often told by local people that they looked forward to
the day when UNIQLO returned to open a store in their neighborhoods. Now,
UNIQLO is pleased to be able to open temporary stores in some of the hardest
hit communities. Through these stores, UNIQLO will offer local people a
specially selected lineup of great, affordable clothes, as well as new
employment opportunities. UNIQLO are honored to welcome customers to these
stores.
UNIQLO Kesennuma Store
Address: 67-1, Akaiwa Suginosawa, Kesennuma, Miyagi
Prefecture
Launch: 9:30, March 9, 2012 (scheduled)
Duration: Around one year
Business hours: 11:00 – 20:00
Store size: Approx. 100 sq. meters
Store type: Prefabricated structure
Product lineup: About 40 specially selected items planned
UNIQLO Kamaishi Store
Address: Sea Plaza Kamaishi, 2nd floor, 22-1, Suzuko-cho,
Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture
Launch: 9:00, March 9, 2012 (scheduled)
Duration: Around one year
Business hours: 9:00 – 18:00 (closed on Tuesdays)
Store size: Approx. 260 sq. meters
Store type: In-mall outlet
Product lineup: About 40 specially selected items planned
UNIQLO Haramachi Store
UNIQLO Haramachi Store in Fukushima Prefecture will reopen on March 9,
2012. The store has been temporarily closed since March 12, 2011.
Address: Via Fresco, 261 Kitahara Aza Sakaibori,
Haramachi-ku, Minamisoma, Fukushima prefecture
Relaunch: 9:00, March 9, 2012 (scheduled)
Business hours: 11:00 – 20:00 on weekdays, 10:00 – 20:00 on
weekends
Store size: Approx. 590 sq. meters
Product lineup: About 200 items
About
UNIQLO and Fast Retailing
UNIQLO is a
brand of Fast Retailing Co. (FR), a leading global Japanese retail holding
company that designs, manufactures and sells clothing under five brands:
Comptoir des Cotonniers, g.u., Princesse tam.tam, Theory, and UNIQLO. With
global sales of 820 billion yen for the 2011 fiscal year ending August 31,
2011, FR is the world’s fourth largest apparel retail company and UNIQLO is
Japan’s leading specialty retailer.
Today UNIQLO
has more than 1,000 stores worldwide, namely in the U.S., U.K. France, Russia,
China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Korea, as well as
Japan. UNIQLO continues to open large-scale stores in some of the world's most
important cities and locations, as part of its ongoing efforts to solidify its
status as a truly global brand. UNIQLO
operates an integrated business model under which it designs, manufactures,
markets and sells high-quality, casual apparel in line with its ‘Made for All’
philosophy.
With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world,
FR is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich
the lives of people everywhere. For more information about UNIQLO and other FR
brands, please visit www.uniqlo.com or www.fastretailing.com
For media inquiries, please contact:
Irish Santos
Media
Relations Manager
AMPR Publicity
and Communications Inc.
Tel： 706-1971
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