UNIQLO Launches "A New Tokyo in Soho" on September 2

NEW YORK, Aug. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- "A New Tokyo in Soho" is the theme of the new UNIQLO store that will be unveiled on September 2 in Soho. Japanese apparel retailer UNIQLO opened its first global flagship store in 2006 with the concept "From Tokyo to Soho," and after ten years, renews its engagement with one of New York's most vibrant local communities. Through the re-modeled store, UNIQLO will once again bring the very latest in Tokyo creativity, innovation and shopping experiences to Soho.

"Introducing the UNIQLO brand in the U.S. and opening the very first global flagship store in Soho in 2006 were important milestones in the company's plans to expand internationally. During the past ten years, Soho has evolved as an important hub of design, creativity and art, and UNIQLO too has grown in the community. 'A New Tokyo in Soho' symbolizes a celebration of our first ten years and our commitment to deepen our roots in the community over many years to come. By engaging with the neighborhood in new and exciting ways, we wish to contribute to the next phase of Soho's growth," said Hiroshi Taki, UNIQLO U.S.A. CEO.  

A New Tokyo in Soho

The renovated store will feature multiple shop-in-shop areas, each telling a story that highlights UNIQLO LifeWear and the company's passion for innovation. The shop promoting performance items such as Ultra Light Down and Jogger Pants will focus on functionality, while another will celebrate the art of design, emphasizing the care and attention UNIQLO dedicates to fabrics like cashmere and the patterns of flannel. A new shop will bring Japanese urban style together with Soho street style, through classic items like denim and oxford shirts. In addition, this shop will present the best of Japanese styling through a special partnership with Popeye magazine, Japan's iconic men's fashion and lifestyle print publication.

In honor of Soho's rich artistic history, UNIQLO will engage with its neighborhood through regular events around cultural moments. The store's mezzanine level will work as an exhibition space, evoking images of a Soho artist's loft and featuring products like SPRZ NY (Surprise New York), a collaboration between UNIQLO and MoMA that gives access to iconic artists such as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

UNIQLO Soho will also partner with local stores and restaurants, and the company will extend its relationships with local non-profit organizations such Free Arts NYC and municipal agencies, including the NYC Department of Homeless Services. UNIQLO already collaborates with the NYC Department of Homeless Services throughout the city by donating winter clothes to underprivileged youth as part of A Warm Gesture program, in addition to providing other clothing donations, art and job-experience workshops.

Renovation work at UNIQLO Soho began in July and will continue through the end of August. The store will close from August 22 and will re-open to customers on September 2.

To learn more about "A New Tokyo in Soho," visit http://www.uniqlo.com/us/uniqlo-soho.

UNIQLO in New York City:

• In addition to Soho, UNIQLO occupies a prominent location on 5^th Avenue and 53^rd Street, and on 34^th Street. The 5^th Avenue and 34^th Street stores opened in October 2011.
• In May 2013, UNIQLO became a multi-year, corporate sponsor of MoMA, home to one of the world's greatest collections of modern and contemporary art. At that time, UNIQLO began its sponsorship of the Friday night free admission program, which is known as "UNIQLO Free Friday Nights." Since the start of the partnership, over one million visitors have enjoyed free admission at MoMA.
• In March 2014, UNIQLO launched SPRZ NY (Surprise New York), a new global project featuring a collection of modern art-inspired fashion products that are intended to surprise New York and the world. In partnership with MoMA, the second floor of the Fifth Avenue store was remodeled to resemble a museum, with special areas for each artist and framed displays of T-shirts and other items. In another first, Starbucks opened an outlet at the location, creating a space to drink coffee and enjoy art. The products resulting from the partnership are today available at UNIQLO stores worldwide.
• In September 2014, UNIQLO began its quarterly T-shirt making workshop in partnership with Free Arts NYC and the NYC Department of Homeless Services. For these workshops, UNIQLO invites up to 50 children who are living in the city's homeless shelters to the Fifth Avenue store to learn about the lives and works of artists who are featured in the SPRZ NY collection. At the same time, children create their own works of art on T-shirts, guided by professional art educators from Free Arts NYC and assisted by UNIQLO volunteers.

About UNIQLO LifeWear
Apparel that comes from the Japanese values of simplicity, quality and longevity. Designed to be of the time and for the time, LifeWear is made with such modern elegance that it becomes the building blocks of each individual's style. A perfect shirt that is always being made more perfect. The simplest design hiding the most thoughtful and modern details. The best in fit and fabric made to be affordable and accessible to all. LifeWear is clothing that is constantly being innovated, bringing more warmth, more lightness, better design, and better comfort to people's lives.

About UNIQLO and Fast Retailing
UNIQLO is a brand of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., a leading global Japanese retail holding company that designs, manufactures and sells clothing under seven main brands: Comptoir des Cotonniers, GU, Helmut Lang, J Brand, Princesse tam.tam, Theory, and UNIQLO. With global sales of approximately 1.6817 trillion yen for the 2015 fiscal year ending August 31, 2015 (US $13.88 billion, calculated in yen using the end of August 2015 rate of $1 = 121.18 yen), Fast Retailing is one of the world's largest apparel retail companies, and UNIQLO is Japan's leading specialty retailer.

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. Today the company has a total of more than 1,700 stores in 17 markets worldwide including Japan, Australia, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, U.K. and the U.S. In addition, Grameen UNIQLO, a social business established in Bangladesh in September 2010, currently operates several Grameen UNIQLO stores in Dhaka. UNIQLO manages an integrated business model under which it designs, manufactures, markets and sells high-quality, casual apparel. The company believes that truly great clothes should be supremely comfortable, feature universal designs, are of high quality and offer a superb fit to everyone who wears them.

With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world, Fast Retailing is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For more information about UNIQLO and Fast Retailing, please visit www.uniqlo.com and www.fastretailing.com.

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