Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing to invest $885 mln in warehouse automation (updated)
09/10/2018 09:44
* Announces global tie-up with logistics firm Daifuku
* Automation cuts warehouse staff by 90 pct -company
(Recasts, adds comments from news conference)
TOKYO, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Japan's Fast Retailing 9983.T ,
the owner of popular clothing retail chain Uniqlo, said it would
expand its partnership with logistics firm Daifuku 6383.T and
invest 100 billion yen ($885 million) to automate its warehouse
and distribution system.
Automating its Ariake distribution centre on Tokyo's
waterfront with Daifuku's aid has helped Fast Retailing to cut
staff there by 90 percent as well as allowing a 24
hour-operation, the clothing retailer said.
"We want to introduce automated warehouses around the world
as soon as possible," Fast Retailing Chief Executive Tadashi
Yanai told reporters before they were taken on a rare tour of
the Ariake warehouse which started operations in 2016.
Fast Retailing did not provide a timeframe for the 100
billion yen in investment.
Famous for its affordable line of casual clothing such as
lightweight down jackets, Fast Retailing has grown through
decades of deflation and weak consumption in Japan, and is
expanding abroad steadily.
But it has been struggling with some inefficiencies. In one
instance, its HeatTech thermal inner wear, was delivered to
Japanese warehouses in May, meaning the company was paying for
costly storage for several months.
The new system would ensure more timely delivery of
products, minimising storage costs, it said.
Shares in Fast Retailing ended 1 percent higher after the
announcement, although Daifuku finished 4 percent lower with
reasons for the decline not immediately clear.
Daifuku, which helps companies handle and sort products, has
more than 7,500 employees worldwide with non-Japanese sales
accounting for two thirds of its business.
($1 = 113.1200 yen)
(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
((Ritsuko.Ando@reuters.com; +81 3 6441 1743; Reuters Messaging:
ritsuko.ando.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))