NAGOYA: Japanese clothing giant Uniqlo is set to expand its India footprint as it seeks to broaden sourcing of products for India and the global market, while also looking to open more outlets in the country, its top executives told commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal.“The head of Uniqlo met me. His interest and excitement was far more than I have seen in any other business person. He is almost ready to start tomorrow,” the minister said. The retailer has 20 stores in India and is targeting 100 by 2031, a recent report by Nikkei Asia had said.Goyal said there is interest on both sides in growing textiles trade. While Indian textiles players were unable to crack the Japanese market for several years due to low interest level, but some headway has been made as homegrown players now understand the requirements better in terms of understanding the quality and styles required here.Govt is expecting a major boost to textiles exports due to the trade deals with the UK and the European Union, where duty-free access provided by the trade deals, putting them on a par with Bangladesh.
