Uniqlo marks 20th anniversary in the UK with special events and partnerships

Japanese retailer Uniqlo is celebrating its 20th anniversary in the UK with a series of local partnerships, special events and new store updates in London to say thank you to the first market outside of Japan where Uniqlo was established.

Celebrations will include late-night skating at Somerset House, special charity campaigns, pop-ups showcasing local businesses, and new features in-store from digital layouts that offer more interactive and educational information about the Uniqlo LifeWear offerings to the return of a special UTme! Machine for customers to design exclusive limited-edition T-shirts with partners Tokyo Bike, It’s Nice That, Jasper Morrison and Tate Modern.

Taku Morikawa, chief executive of Uniqlo Europe, said in a statement: “We are proud that the United Kingdom was the first market Uniqlo chose to launch outside of Japan 20 years ago and wish to express our gratitude and thanks to our customers and partners who are at the heart of everything we do.

“Our global flagship 311 Oxford Street Store is the perfect location to kick off a series of activations during this special anniversary year and continue offering the best customer experience possible to all, which will culminate with the opening of the new store on Regent Street in spring 2022.”

Highlights from Uniqlo’s 20th anniversary celebrations include a pop-up residency in the 311 Oxford Street flagship store to London-based coffee roasters Perky Blenders, as well as a renewed partnership with Tate Modern to create ‘Uniqlo Tate Play’ a new initiative offering families unique ways to get creative and playfully explore art together, and ice skating at Somerset House with a curated line-up of leading contemporary DJs, artists and collectives.

Uniqlo will also be highlighting its 10-year long-term partnership with local homeless charity Centrepoint with a monetary donation to help fund the hire of a dedicated jobs, education and training worker.

The fashion brand will also be launching 20 colours of cashmere and 20 colours of fleece, with the fleeces being made from recycled PET plastic bottles. Both product activations will be highlighted at Uniqlo’s Oxford Street flagship store.