Daiso founder Hirotake Yano dies at age 80 of heart failure
Hirotake Yano, the founder of popular Japanese retail chain Daiso, died at the age of 80 on Feb 12.
A statement made by Daiso Industries Company Limited on Monday (Feb 19) revealed that the billionaire died due to heart failure in Hiroshima and that a private funeral had “already been held by close family members”.
After unsuccessful stints at his father-in-law’s fish business and peddling encyclopaedias, Yano started selling goods from a street stall in 1972.
In 1977, Yano Shoten became Daiso and Yano introduced the company’s signature single-price model which, at that time, was 100 yen (US$0.67 today).
In an interview with Tokyo Weekender, he revealed that his price model was a result of him realising that tagging “so many different products with different prices was becoming too time-consuming”.
The firm began expanding across Asia and abroad, beginning in Taiwan in 2001, and 990 of its 5,350 stores are outside Japan, according to its website.
“I have failed many times… But I kept going because I thought there was nothing else I could do,” local media quoted Yano as saying in 2001.
“It’s the value and the fun that customers can find in 100 yen. They get mental satisfaction from their shopping experience,” he said.
Daiso expanded into Singapore in 2002 and now boasts over 30 outlets islandwide.