Tadashi Yanai

Tadashi Yanai (柳井 正 Yanai Tadashi?, born February 7, 1949) is founder and president of Fast Retailing, of which Uniqlo (ユニクロ, "unique clothing") is subsidiary. He is routinely ranked as one of richest men in Japan, and in 2009 he was ranked 76th richest man in world according to Forbes, making him richest man in Japan with estimated net worth of $6.0 billion USD.[1][2]

Biography

Yanai attended Ube High School and later Waseda University, graduating in 1971 with a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Politics.[3] In 1984, he opened his first Uniqlo store in Hiroshima.[3] In the April 2009 issue of Monocle magazine, Yanai said, "I might look successful but I've made many mistakes. People take their failures too seriously. You have to be positive and believe you will find success next time."

Yanai won the International Retailer of Year award for 2010 from the National Retail Federation in US. He was only the fourth Japanese national to win it, and the first since Masatoshi Ito (the owner and honorary chairman of the Ito-Yokado retailing group) in 1998. He was also chosen as best company president in a survey of Japanese corporate executives by Sanno Institute of Management in 2008 and 2009.[4]

In March 2011, Yanai donated 1 billion yen to victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake.[5]

References

  1. ^ Tabuchi, Hiroko (2009-10-01). "Chinese Economic Juggernaut Is Gaining on Japan". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/business/economy/02yen.html?ref=asia. Retrieved 2009-10-04. 
  2. ^ "The World's Billionaires". Forbes. 2009-03-11. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/10/billionaires-2009-richest-people_Tadashi-Yanai-family_UMKN.html. Retrieved 2009-10-04. 
  3. ^ a b "Fast Retailing Lives Up to Name With Global Gains". Forbes. 2009-06-22. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124561705840435203.html. Retrieved 2009-10-04. 
  4. ^ Kensuke Kojima (2011). Uniqlo Syndrome. Toyo Keizai Shinpo Sha. ISBN-10:4492761918 Tenkai Japan. ASIN: B004PYDPOK.
  5. ^ |work=Mainichi Shinbun|date=2011-03-15|accessdate=2011-03-16}}"Uniqlo operator to donate 1.4 billion yen to quake victims". http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/business/news/20110315p2a00m0na002000c.html.