Japan's Uniqlo to close main S.Korean outlet

Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo will close its global flagship store in Myeongdong, central Seoul on Jan.31 after a sharp drop in sales stemming from the pandemic and a trade dispute between South Korea and Japan.

The Seoul store is the second biggest Uniqlo outlet in the world after the one in New York.

Fast Retailing Co., Uniqlo'soperator in South Korea, suffered 88.3 billion won in operating losses from September 2019 to August 2020.

In September, Uniqlo closed nine of its South Korean outlets due to a steep drop in demand.

South Korean consumers have boycotted Japanese products since July 2019 in response to Japan's export restrictions of some key industrial materials to South Korea.

The trade curbs were triggered by a 2018 South Korean Supreme Court order for Japanese firms to compensate South Korean victims of wartime forced labor.