Japanese retailer Uniqlo to open first San Antonio store

North Star may have recently lost pricey retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, but the mall is already attracting a buzzy new tenant. Japanese retailer Uniqlo is opening its first San Antonio shop in 2027.

The company was founded in 1984 in Hiroshima. Founder Tadashi Yanai took over his father’s suiting store, transforming it into a hub for casual unisex basics. Initially, the brand was set to be registered as a shortened contraction of "unique clothing.” An administrative mishap mistook the “C” for a “Q.” Yanai saw it as a happy accident and adopted the misspelling throughout Japan.

Now, the store is a global retail giant with more than 2,500 international locations. Their first U.S. store opened in 2005 in New Jersey, but it’s a newcomer to Texas. The brand’s first five Lone Star locations — two in Houston and three in the Dallas-Fort Worth area — debuted in 2024.

Although often considered a fast-fashion retailer, Uniqlo takes a different approach to competitors like H&M and Zara. Instead of borrowing trends from designer runways, it mostly sticks to everyday wear like t-shirts, fleece outerwear, jeans, and a rainbow assortment of socks.

That doesn’t mean that it isn’t coveted. Its Heattech range of cold-weather gear has long been a fashionista secret in frostier climes. And the label has long been putting an artsy spin on its basics by licensing designs from the estates of Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Keith Haring.

More recently, it has found success by collaborating with big designer names, although it takes a more underground approach than, say, Gucci-North Face. Avant-garde standard-bearer Jil Sander served as the brand’s creative director from 2009-2011.

Since then, Uniqlo has hitched its star to fashion insiders, working with cult brands like Engineered Garments, JW Anderson, and Anya Hindmarch and legendary figures such as former Vogue France editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld and former Chanel muse Inès de la Fressange.

Uniqlo also has a collab with tennis great Roger Federer, which surely keeps Anna Wintour happy.

According to a new Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing, the new 16,011 Uniqlo store will wrap up construction in July 2027, although timelines are subject to change. The brand did not immediately return a request for a more exact opening date.