Uniqlo operator teams up with Accenture to boost shopper service

Fast Retailing, operator of Uniqlo, the Japanese-based casual wear chain, has teamed up with Accenture to use cutting-edge technology to hone its production capability and to provide more personalised services to shoppers.

It will set up a joint venture this year with the consulting firm to use big data for analysis of everything from manufacturing to sales, enabling it to respond faster to changing trends and customer needs.

Fast Retailing also plans to launch this fall a new smartphone app that will use information about when and where customers shopped and what they bought from the company’s worldwide network of around 3,000 stores and at its online store. Services based on state-of-the-art technology will be provided using this data.

Accenture handles big-data analysis for more than 2,000 clients. Its joint venture with Fast Retailing will work with a variety of IT startups to develop the new apps and services.

Speaking at a press conference in Japan, Fast Retailing chairman, president and CEO Tadashi Yanai said the company wants to “let everyone in the world shop in a way they’ve never experienced before”.

By the year 2020, for example, customers will be able to order clothing by selecting their preferred patterns, sizes and materials on their mobile devices. Fast Retailing will also integrate its online and real-world presence, using wearable devices to direct users to in-store items they are likely to be interested in. Products can be delivered to customers’ homes or to nearby convenience stores.

Fast Retailing’s group sales grew by 21% to ¥1.38 trillion (US$13.3 billion) in the year ended August 2014.