Tokyo and New York City — GU, the Japanese apparel retailer and sister brand of UNIQLO, plans to open GU NY SOHO, the brand’s first overseas flagship store, in fall 2024 in the SoHo neighborhood of New York. Following a successful pop-up location, the permanent store will offer women’s and men’s clothing across two floors, as well as shoes, bags and accessories. An online store with the same product lineup as the physical store will also launch at the same time, delivering GU products nationwide.
With a sales floor area of about 10,225 square feet, GU NY SOHO will be a showcase for the GU brand concept. The opening of a store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York — an area with a gathering of people of diverse cultures, values and lifestyles — is a major step toward GU becoming a global fashion brand. The pop-up store in New York, which is currently open, is scheduled to close this summer.
“For about a year and a half since opening our first pop-up store in the U.S. in the fall of 2022, we have been able to provide GU products to many customers, so we have great expectations for our business development in the U.S.,” says Osamu Yunoki, CEO of GU. “We have applied what we learned from the pop-up store to establish a framework for product development and business operations at a global level, and we are extremely pleased to be officially opening a store in the United States this fall. We will also launch our online store at the same time, and hope that even more customers will enjoy GU fashion.”
GU was established in 2006 as a sister brand of UNIQLO, and currently operates approximately 470 stores in Asia, mainly in Japan. This is the first official opening of a store outside of Asia.
GU NY SOHO will be located at 578 Broadway, New York, NY, 10012. For more information, visit www.uniqlo.com/us/en/special-feature/gu/home.
SOURCE: GU