Fast Retailing says to open stores in Russia

TOKYO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Fast Retailing (9983.T), operator of Uniqlo casual clothing chain, said it would open stores in Russia in the spring of 2010 and that it was aiming to boost annual sales to 5 trillion yen ($54 billion) by the year to August 2020.

The company, which runs about 780 Uniqlo stores in Japan and 80 overseas including China and the United Kingdom, aims to become a global fashion powerhouse and it has been on hunt for large-scale acquisitions and aggressively opening stores abroad.

The firm has said it targets annual sales of 1 trillion yen in the year ending in August 2010. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka)