How Fleece Fabric Saved Uniqlo

The phenomenally popular fleece jacket launched by Uniqlo in 1998 was a turning point that propelled the brand to global status.

Uniqlo’s first flagship store sparked a buying frenzy: a fleece jacket that originally belonged to the high-priced outdoor category was priced at just 1,900 yen (about 122 yuan), less than one-third the price of comparable products.

That season, the item sold an astonishing 2 million units; two years later, the upgraded version set a new sales miracle with 26 million units.

With a single fleece fabric, Uniqlo’s fate was rewritten.

Uniqlo’s brand image quickly reversed from “cheap but low quality” to “cheap and high quality.”

Over the next more than 20 years, dozens of different types of fleece garments have always been winter best-sellers for Uniqlo.

Aligned with Tadashi Yanai’s business philosophy of “nine defeats and one victory,” a breakout product can pull a company out of the fire. And its long-term staying power lies in transforming a single product into a sustainable model.