Fast Retailing Watching for China Boycott After Xinjiang Remarks

Fast Retailing Co., owner of the Uniqlo apparel chain, is closely monitoring to see if Chinese demand for its products is affected by Chairman Tadashi Yanai ’s reported comment that the company isn’t using cotton from Xinjiang.

Yanai’s remark has become a popular topic of discussion on Chinese social networking sites and Yamaguchi-based Fast Retailing is “watching the situation carefully,” including the possibility that Chinese consumers will boycott Uniqlo products in protest, spokesperson Seikei Itoh told Bloomberg News by phone on Saturday.