First Look: GU, sister brand of Uniqlo, opens first U.S. store
GU said its philosophy furthers the brand’s goal of not making, transporting, selling and disposing of wasteful clothes as much as possible. To minimize waste, each GU store globally has donation boxes to collect clothes that customers have finished wearing. GU works with local partners to deliver the clothes to those in need, such as refugees and the homeless.
GU has operated a small pop-up in SoHo since 2022. It is closing with the opening of the permanent store.
“Since opening our first pop-up store in the U.S. in the fall of 2022, we've had the opportunity to introduce GU products to many customers, which has greatly fueled our expectations for business growth in the U.S.,” stated Osamu Yunoki, CEO of GU. “We've leveraged the insights gained to create a robust framework for global product development and business operations."
GU (pronounced as the letters “G” and “U” and derived from the Japanese word for “freedom,” was established in 2006 as a sister brand of Uniqlo. It currently operates approximately 470 stores in Asia, mainly in Japan, as well as e-commerce sites in several markets.