Fast Retailing founded GU as a low-cost sister brand to Uniqlo.
Fast Retailing is the Japanese retail holding company best known internationally for Uniqlo. GU was launched in Japan in 2006 and positioned as a more price-conscious fashion brand, with a name pronounced like the English word “gee-you.”
The group’s roots go back to a men’s clothing shop opened by Hitoshi Yanai in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in 1949. Tadashi Yanai later transformed the business and expanded Uniqlo internationally. Fast Retailing also owns or has owned other apparel brands, but Uniqlo and GU are its most prominent consumer names.
A common mistake is to identify GU as an independent retailer unrelated to Uniqlo. It is a separate brand with its own stores and merchandise strategy, but it belongs to the same corporate group. Ryohin Keikaku, by contrast, is the company behind Muji.