Yanai, who founded the Uniqlo chain and opened the first store in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1984, said things would be different this time around. "In the past we focused on building up a store network as quickly as possible — but without a flagship store to be our showcase," he said. "Now, we're looking at opening large-format stores in metropolitan areas in order to show the best of Uniqlo to the world. We hope the fashion and product will be appreciated, and that growth will come organically."

A year ago, the company opened its first Manhattan flagship at 546 Broadway in SoHo, a 36,000-square-foot store that is the chain's largest unit outside Japan. A Paris flagship will follow within the next two years, Yanai said. The small antenna store in London will be used to test the market and trading in euros.

Although Yanai declined to give full-year sales projections for the new British stores, Fast Retailing has said it is expecting total overseas sales for the fiscal year ending in August 2008 to reach 30 billion yen, or $262 million.

By 2010, the firm projects sales of 100 billion yen, or $873 million, from overseas operations. The brand has about 760 stores worldwide. Since 2003, Uniqlo has worked at giving its clothing more of a fashion edge, such as by collaborating with designers including Lutz & Patmos, Phillip Lim and GVGV on capsule collections.

Since its London closures in 2003, it has also opened a design studio in Tokyo (previously, the design staff was part of the merchandising department) and satellite studios in Milan and Paris.

Uniqlo has also made a concerted effort to embrace the spirit of London at the new stores. In-store styling has been done by Nicola Formichetti, fashion director of Dazed & Confused magazine, and the latest issue of Uniqlo's magazine, Paper, features commentary by Dazed co-founder Jefferson Hack; gallerist Max Wigram (who is also the husband of designer Phoebe Philo); actress Samantha Morton, and stylist Katy England.

Collaborations include a capsule collection by the English designer Adam Jones, while a clutch of limited edition T-shirts (all sold in plastic canisters stacked against a wall on the ground floor) have been created in collaboration with East London talent including Gareth Pugh, Kim Jones and Carri Mundane of Cassette Playa.