The only thing San Francisco’s transit agency is getting in return for a new Uniqlo-Muni collection is brand awareness — but it doesn’t seem to mind.
News of a Muni-themed collection of shirts and bags caught traction on Instagram and was featured in a press release the day the Japanese retailer returned to downtown San Francisco, opening a flagship store at 801 Market St. earlier this month.
It was a big moment in the city’s comeback story. Mayor Daniel Lurie filmed himself at the store, panning to the Muni-branded T-shirts and totes. When the doors opened on Oct. 9, Uniqlo had DJs, art and a melodramatic ribbon cutting. Customers lined up down Market Street.
But while the partnership has drawn publicity to the agency, Uniqlo is the only one making any money.
“This is not a revenue partnership,” confirmed Parisa Safarzadeh, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency spokesperson. “It’s a collection designed for Muni loyalists who love our brand and services, and brand affinity pays dividends for our near and long-term future.”
The city, in fact, expended time on the merchandise: The transit agency’s creative team led the design, along with help from the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts and other local artists.
Items in the collection range from $20 to $30. Those include custom printed T-shirts and tote bags printed with Muni worms, old cable cars and other archival imagery like California’s orange poppy flowers and plastic honey bears. The items are exclusive to the Market Street location.
A handful of muni-enthusiasts took to social media sharing what they purchased at the opening. A week later, the state of the in-store collection was just as ravaged through by the swarm of customers as it was opening day.
Uniqlo did not respond to a request for comment. It is unclear how much it has made from the line, or how much it expects to make. Last year, the retail giant brought in $22.12 billion in sales.
It’s not the first time a brand has used Bay Area transit designs: In September 2025, Baggu, a trendy bag retailer, used Bart’s trademarked logo without permission. The brand faced backlash after BART quickly took to social media, clarifying this was not an official collaboration.
Greg Dewar, the author of the transit blog N-Judah Chronicles, said that in larger cities such as New York or Los Angeles, it is more typical for transit agencies to hire people dedicated to licensing. Though in San Francisco, this is not the case.
Dewar said SFMTA considered its own licensing program some years ago, but it never came to pass.
Though any revenue-sharing would be pocket change, the agency could use it: It is asking voters to approve a parcel tax in November to put some $184 million annually into agency coffers, with 75 percent of the tax revenue coming from commercial property owners — the MTA is facing a $307 million deficit in the 2026-27 fiscal year.