- From our Sponsors -
Uniqlo's owner, Fast Retailing, revealed on Thursday that the company will have to raise the prices of certain items due to increased raw material and shipping costs.
This comes despite Japanese firms having a culture of being reluctant to raise prices.
“We have a policy to avoid increasing prices if possible. Unfortunately, we have reached a point that we have no choice but to do so,” Takeshi Okazaki, Chief Financial Officer said at a press conference in Tokyo.
Fast Retailing's commented that more Japanese companies realize that cost reduction is no longer an option to overcome growing costs.
Years of stagnant pricing and wages have made Japan Inc cautious of alienating consumers and losing market share via an increase in price.
However, the weakening yen is driving up costs even further, increasing the epidemic's inflationary pain.
Japanese yen has hit its lowest level against the dollar in five years.
Policymakers have long been concerned about Japanese firms' unwillingness to raise prices and wages in order to sustain a virtuous spending cycle that supports economic progress as the country's population ages and declines.
- From our Sponsors -
