Uniqlo climbs nine places in Interbrand's global brand ranking as its value rises 16%
Uniqlo rose to No. 38 in Interbrand's 2026 Best Global Brands ranking, with its brand value up 16% to $20.5bn -- a verdict, from outside Fast Retailing's own figures, that the push into North America and Europe is lifting a brand still anchoring Uniqlo's Japan floors.
Uniqlo rose to No. 38 in Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2026 ranking, up nine places from No. 47 in its 2025 debut, with its brand value climbing 16% to US$20.5 billion from US$17.7 billion, Fast Retailing said on October 28, citing the consultancy's annual study. Interbrand's methodology weighs a brand's financial performance, its role in purchase decisions and its overall strength, according to Fast Retailing. The combined value of every brand on the 2026 list rose 8.1% to US$3.866 trillion, the company said -- so Uniqlo's gain ran at roughly twice the list's average rate.
Uniqlo first entered the ranking in 2025 and was separately placed in the top five of Interbrand's Best Japan Brands study in April 2026, Fast Retailing said. Koji Yanai, the company's group senior executive officer, said in a statement: "We are honoured to be recognised in Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2026." The ranking lands three weeks after Fast Retailing reported record results for the year to August 2026 -- revenue up 16.6% to ¥3.96 trillion and business profit up 30.4% to ¥718.4 billion -- with combined North America and Europe revenue of US$5.48 billion, now large enough that the two regions together out-sell Uniqlo's business in Greater China, the company has said.
A brand-value ranking is Interbrand's own methodology, not an audited figure, and it specifically rewards growth outside Japan -- so this is a verdict on Uniqlo's push into North America and Europe, not on its home market, where Fast Retailing's own results showed Japan same-store sales growth of 5.1% coming almost entirely from higher spend per customer (+4.8%) rather than more shoppers (+0.2%), and a Japan store count that fell to 782 from 794 over the year. In our view, the ranking is most useful not as a number in its own right but as independent confirmation, from outside the company's own accounts, that the brand underpinning those 782 Uniqlo stores in Japan is strengthening on the back of business it does elsewhere.