Uniqlo’s Sister Brand GU Opens First US Flagship Store in New York’s SoHo

Gu, a Uniqlo sister brand and part of the Fast Retailing Group, has opened its first U.S. flagship in New York. This marks the first permanent GU store outside of Asia.

In addition, the retailer has launched its U.S. e-commerce site and app, making GU products available to a national audience for the first time.

Located at 578 Broadway, GU SoHo 10,225-square-foot location, spans across two floors offering women’s and men’s clothing, shoes, bags, and accessories.

GU first launched in 2006 and currently operates more than 400 stores in Asia, mainly in Japan, as well as e-commerce sites in several markets. Like Uniqlo, the retailer focuses on affordability, but compared to its sister brand, it offers a more trend-driven assortment.

“At Uniqlo, they offer high quality, high functional products at the reasonable price and basic fashion and but we, GU, offer more trend, more fashion, and reliable quality, not highest, but reliable, and much lower price,” CEO Osamu Yunoki told FN.

Items range from $39.90 for GU’s best-selling Barrel Leg Pants to $29.90 for ballet flats.

Footwear includes a mix of styles such as Mary Janes, loafers, sock boots and biker boots for women, as well as loafers, lace-up dress shoes and boots for men. When GU debuted its New York pop-up store in 2022 as a test, however, shoes were not a hit. “Footwear did not sell well at first,” said Yunoki. “The shape of the shoes is a little bit different in Japan. So that’s why we tested many times and had many fitting sessions and adjusted [for this debut].”

Unlike competitors in this fashion space, GU aims to differentiate itself by reducing the number of products it sells. According to the company, it offers less than one-tenth the number of items compared to other brands in the same price range. By narrowing down the range to the essential items that customers actually want and use, GU increases the efficiency of the entire supply chain, including material procurement, sewing, distribution, sales, and supply-demand coordination — resulting in high quality products at low prices. The concept revolves around a curated collection that is designed to mix and match, resulting in more styling possibilities with fewer products.

Added Yunoki, “This concept hits the needs of modern people. People are very busy. It’s well coordinated and well-calculated in advance, it’s easy to choose. That’s why you don’t need to purchase a lot. Also, they have a lot of other things to spend money, other than fashion.”

To celebrate the store opening on Sept. 19, GU is hosting an interactive launch with activities, special pricing and giveaways that will through the Sept 22. The first 300 customers each day will receive a collaborative tote bag designed by Shantell Martin as a gift with a purchase of $100 or more, for instance.

GU NY Soho opens September 19th, 2024, at 578 Broadway, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. From Sept. 20 to Sept. 22, the store will operate from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. as special opening weekend hours. The store’s normal operating hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Sunday.