Daiso founder Hirotake Yano passes away at age 80
Hirotake Yano, founder of Daiso, the popular thrift store selling affordable Japanese products, has passed away at the age of 80. The announcement was made by Daiso Industries in a statement released on Monday, February 19, Japanese time.
In the statement, the company revealed that he passed away due to heart failure in Hiroshima. The statement also revealed that a private funeral has already been held by close family members, with a gathering to commemorate Yano to be held “sometime in the near future.”
As reported by CNN, Yano incorporated Daiso in 1977, 10 years after graduating from Chuo University in Tokyo. Before Daiso became the company that it was in 1977, it was a small shop that Yano founded in 1972 that sold products for 100 yen.
Since its incorporation, Daiso has become a retail giant, with 4,360 stores in Japan and more than 990 stores in other countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, and the United States. It first opened its overseas stores in 2001 in Taiwan and South Korea.
CNN also reports that in February 2022, Daiso made over 550 billion yen or P204,972,391,690 based on current exchange rates.
Since its establishment, Daiso has spawned multiple budget retailers in Japan, such as Seria, Can Do, and CouCou. The arrival of the internet has also spawned the rise of online budget retailers like Shein and Temu, who are now locked in a legal battle that alleges “mafia-style intimidation” from China-based Shein.
In a lawsuit filed by US-based Temu in the US district court for the District of Columbia, the company alleged Shein “bullied, intimidated, and even detained” Temu's Chinese suppliers to “eliminate the competitive threat” that Temu poses.
Shein has called the lawsuit “without merit” and that they are ready to “vigorously defend” themselves.
