Yano Hirotake, Founder of Japan Daiso, Passes Away

Former Hirotake Yano, former chairman of Japan's Daiso Sangyo, has been reported deceased belatedly.

Japan's Daiso Sangyo announced on the 19th that Chairman Yano passed away from heart failure on the 12th in Higashihiroshima-shi. He was 80 years old.

In 1972, Yano, who sold daily necessities loaded on a truck, laid the foundation for the idea of founding Daiso Sangyo in 1977 with his 'Yano Shop.' It involved buying inventory products cheaply from companies that had gone bankrupt or were struggling financially and selling them at low prices. Later, when it became difficult to distinguish price tags, it is known that items were sold at a uniform price of 100 yen.

Afterwards, he began opening directly managed stores under the name '100 Yen Shop Daiso' throughout Japan. The business rapidly expanded in the late 1990s during the prolonged recession following the burst of Japan's economic bubble.

Chairman Yano was known to often say that his business would soon fail due to competitors in the 100 yen shop market such as 'Seria' and 'Cando.' It is evaluated that this sense of crisis prevented complacency and enabled the company to become a global brand. As of 2019, about 3,300 stores operate in Japan and approximately 2,000 stores in 26 countries overseas.