[News Inside] Japan's Richest Inspired by Samsung Founder Lee Byung-chul... Backlash from 'Banhan' Sentiment

Yanai Tadashi, Chairman of Fast Retailing
In an Interview with Japanese Media: "I Entered Business Thanks to Samsung Chairman Lee Byung-chul's Book"
However, Backlash Due to Anti-Korean Remarks and Comfort Women Advertisement Controversy

▲Chairman Tadashi Yanai

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jaehee] "The anti-Korean sentiment among Japanese people means that the level of Japanese people has also declined."

This is a statement by Yanai Tadashi, chairman of Fast Retailing, a Japanese retail company famous for the clothing brand 'Uniqlo.' In an interview with Japanese media, he indirectly revealed his perception of Korea in this way.

Since then, Uniqlo became a target of anti-Japanese movements due to controversies such as the comfort women advertisement, resulting in a simultaneous decline in sales and net profit for the first time in 17 years. According to the financial results announced by Fast Retailing on the 16th, the consolidated net profit for the fiscal year 2019 (September 2019 to August 2020) decreased by 44.4% year-on-year to 90.3 billion yen (approximately 983.2 billion KRW). Sales fell by 12.3% to 2.0088 trillion yen (approximately 21.8732 trillion KRW). This is the first time in 17 years that both sales and net profit have declined in annual results.

In particular, Fast Retailing announced that the Uniqlo business recorded an operating loss in Korea due to the boycott movement there.

This also affected Chairman Yanai Tadashi's assets. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his assets decreased by 204 million dollars (approximately 231.4 billion KRW) to 35.4 billion dollars (approximately 40.1613 trillion KRW). Nevertheless, he still holds the position of Japan's richest person.

Most of the fortune built by Chairman Yanai came from Uniqlo, which has emerged as a global fast fashion brand.

Yanai, the only son among one son and two daughters, inherited the family business from his father Yanai Hitoshi and embarked on the path of founding Uniqlo. His father operated a men's clothing store called Ogori Shoten in Yamaguchi Prefecture, which later became the predecessor of Uniqlo.

After graduating from Waseda University's School of Political Science and Economics in Tokyo, Yanai was preparing to study in the United States but got a job at a distribution company called Jusco in his hometown, working in miscellaneous goods. Jusco is the predecessor of Aeon, one of Japan's leading retail companies. He quit after seven months, and his father entrusted him with one of his businesses, the men's clothing store. Although he did not want to inherit the family business, once he took charge, his competitive spirit was triggered. Yanai's father gave him full authority over management, and he increased sales by hundreds of times.

He officially entered the clothing business in 1972 when he inherited Ogori Shoten. After visiting the United States, he discovered a retail idea and applied it to his clothing business. While running his father's men's clothing store, he visited foreign clothing retail stores and was inspired by the sales method of a university campus store in the U.S. Customers could easily select the items they wanted from displays, and the staff only handled the checkout. This method was unfamiliar to Japanese retailers at the time, but he decided to introduce a 'customer-centered' approach that allowed customers to choose products comfortably without pressure. It was a revolutionary method that was comfortable for customers and reduced operating costs by cutting down staff.

Ironically, the reason Yanai, who faced backlash for his anti-Korean remarks, entered the business was thanks to 'Korea.' In an interview with Japanese media, he said, "During my days at Waseda University, I was impressed by a book called 'The Way We Prosper' written by Lee Byung-chul, the founder of Samsung in Korea, and that inspired me to enter business." He added, "I was impressed by Chairman Lee's progressive mindset of wanting to enter the world after the Korean War when there was nothing."