Fast Retailing Co. cut its full-year operating profit forecast as unseasonably warm weather worldwide hurt sales of winter clothes for the retailer's Uniqlo brand of casual wear, the Yamaguchi-based company said Thursday.
Operating profit will probably be ¥180 billion in the year ending August 2016. That compares with the company's projection of ¥200 billion made in October, and the ¥199.6 billion average estimate of 16 analysts compiled by Bloomberg.
Fast Retailing last month announced November same-store sales in Japan fell 8.9 percent due to "unusually hot weather." The weak performance threatens billionaire Chairman Tadashi Yanai's goal to turn Asia's biggest clothing retailer into a world leader with sales of ¥5 trillion by 2020. Fast Retailing also faces hurdles in the U.S., where low recognition of the Uniqlo brand has led to sustained losses.
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