Uniqlo stays open in Russia saying clothes are ‘necessity’

The Uniqlo owner has defended his decision to keep his Russian stores open, saying clothing is a “necessity of life”.

Uniqlo has 49 stores in Russia and while it will be “monitoring the situation”, it has no plans to suspend trading.

A number of Western companies such as Zara and H&M have suspended operations in Russia because of the war with Ukraine.

But Fast Retailing founder Tadashi Yanai said Russia’s people have “the same right to live as we do.”

Mr Yanai told Japanese newspaper Nikkei: “There should never be war. Every country should oppose it.”

But he said: “Clothing is a necessity of life. The people of Russia have the same right to live as we do.”