Uniqlo opens first L.A. store at Beverly Center

Japanese retailer Uniqlo, which has often been compared to America’s classic brand Gap, is opening its first store in Los Angeles on Friday at the Beverly Center.

The store is one of four debuting in the Southland this year. Uniqlo locations at South Coast Plaza, Glendale Galleria and Northridge Fashion Center have already opened in recent weeks. Another store at the Los Cerritos Mall is opening next spring.

The company already has more than 1,300 stores worldwide, including 31 in the U.S.

The chain, best known for high quality basics such as down jackets and cashmere sweaters, first ventured into the West Coast in 2012 with a store in San Francisco.

Since then, the retailer has aggressively expanded on both coasts as many other clothing chains are closing stores.

Uniqlo is owned by Japanese holding company Fast Retailing Co., parent of Helmut Lang and Theory. The first store in the Uniqlo chain opened in Hiroshima in 1984.

Fast Retailing said it is the world’s fourth-largest retail apparel company, with global sales of 1.14 trillion yen, or $11.2 billion, in the fiscal year ended Aug. 31.

Follow Shan Li on Twitter @ShanLi