A Japanese clothing brand that got men to love shopping is becoming Gap's biggest threat

Uniqlo is set to overtake Gap in sales.

The brand, which has 1,500 stores around the world, is investing in an American expansion.

Meanwhile, Gap has fallen on hard times and recently announced it would lay off many people and shutter 175 stores.

A graph from Dadaviz illustrates Uniqlo's wild growth.

A Goldman Sachs study in 2013 noted that Gap's slow production process resulted in the company losing out to fast fashion retailers like Zara and Forever 21.

"Unlike fast fashion retailers which have buying teams sourcing current trending fashion from third-party vendors, traditional specialty retailers have design teams creating product they believe is going to be trending 12-months out," the Goldman Sachs researchers wrote.

While Gap has tried to be trendy, Uniqlo is renowned for its basics - especially in the men's department.

The brand is going to great lengths to attract male shoppers.

Apparel retailers have traditionally gone after women, who tend to shop more often and seek out trendy designs.

"We take the men's business not as a secondary business, but a primary one," Steven Sare, chief merchandising officer, told Business Insider.

While the brand is already the biggest apparel chain in Asia, executives are currently going after the Western market and have opened nearly 40 stores in America. That number could eventually expand to 1,000.

Sare said that half of Uniqlo's customers are men, while its specialty retail competitors tend to have more female customers.