In a matter of months, Uniqlo has increased its Hawaii footprint seven times with high hopes for future expansion in the islands.

Starting in a small pop-up at Ala Moana Center, the Japanese clothing retailer today is opening its full store in the glitzy Ewa wing of the mall.

It opened a 2,500-square-foot pop-up in June, followed by part of the store on the third level in September, while completing the rest of the 17,300-square-foot location that includes a mall level and interior mezzanine featuring its popular themed T-shirts, ranging from $10 to $15.

“The number of content, the number of colors, the number of items, it’s huge,” said CEO Takao Kuwahara, adding that the Hawaii store is unique because it is one of a few outlets that have an extensive T-shirt collection.

The store is hoping to not only cater to tourists, but to build a strong local clientele.

The retailer, which sells functional everyday wear at lower price points for men, women and children, is launching Hawaii- only T-shirts that won’t be available online. The shirts are designed by artists Matt Tapia and Kevin Lyons, whose work is part of Pow! Wow! Hawaii, the annual street art event that features murals on the streets of Kakaako from artists from around the world. It also sells Hawaii-exclusive aloha shirts and dresses, as part of the 400 to 500 other items that include undergarments, slacks, skirts, swimwear and parkas.

“We hope to provide to the Hawaii locals. Japanese customers can go to Uniqlo from their house easily, so if they want to purchase something in Hawaii, there has to be something that’s different from what they see in the Uniqlo store close by,” said Yuya Tanahashi, chief operating officer. “So in a sense for exclusive items, that can attract not only Japanese, but travelers around the world. We hope that the local customers enjoy it the most.”

The company hopes to open several stores in the islands over the next few years.

“There are a lot of people already living here. It’s not a small market with over 1 million people,” Kuwahara said. “If we have a store in Hawaii, it’s easy to communicate to the world.”