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How Uniqlo Built a Global Brand on HeatTech and One Fabric
Episode 76 of Startup Stories with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna unpack how Uniqlo turned a single synthetic fabric into a $20 billion global apparel empire. We trace the story from Tadashi Yanai's first Tokyo store in 1984 to the invention of HeatTech in 2003, and how the company's obsession with fabric innovation — not fast fashion or brand marketing — created a cult following from Tokyo to New York. We look at the numbers: 3,500 stores in 25 countries, $2 billion in annual HeatTech sales alone, and an operating margin that rivals luxury houses. Plus, the strategic bet on down jackets…
The skinny
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