Billionaire founder of Japanese discount store dies
Hirotake Yano, the billionaire founder of the Japanese discount retailer Daiso, has passed away at the age of 80 due to heart failure.
According to a statement released on Monday, Yano passed away on February 12, and a private funeral was already held by close family members.
Daiso, known as a “100 yen” store similar to pound shops, expressed its condolences and highlighted Yano’s role as a pioneer in the dollar shop business model. Yano founded his first discount retailer in 1972 and was instrumental in establishing the company’s success.
“It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Founder and Former President of Daiso Industries Company Limited, Mr. Hirotake Yano, who passed away last Monday,” Daiso stated on its website. A commemoration gathering is planned to honor his memory.
After graduating from Tokyo’s Chuo University in 1967, Yano held various jobs, including managing his father-in-law’s fishery until it faced bankruptcy. In 1972, at the age of 29, he established his first business, a street vending shop called Yano Shoten or Yano Store. Five years later, he renamed the company Daiso, meaning “create something big,” which gained fame for offering all items at 100 yen each.
Mr Yano said that he and his wife Katsuyo found that having to price products differently was too time-consuming so they decided to charge 100 yen for every item.
Daiso became successful as the Japanese economy stagnated in the 1990s and customers became more price-conscious.
The business model that Mr Yano pioneered is now popular worldwide.
As of the end of 2023, Daiso had 4,360 stores in its home country and almost 1,000 shops around the world, with outlets across Asia as well as North America and the Middle East.
Like the discount stores Mr Yano inspired, Daiso has had to adapt its approach to pricing and now sells goods at multiples of 100 yen.
It has more than 70,000 different items in stock and says that it develops over 1,000 new products a month.
The company calls itself “Japan’s No.1 living ware supplier”.
Mr Yano had a net worth of $1.9bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
