Tadashi Yanai

Tadashi Yanai is a Japanese billionaire businessman, the founder and president of Fast Retailing, of which Uniqlo is a subsidiary. In June 2019, he was ranked as the 31st richest person in the world by Forbes, and the richest man in Japan, with an estimated net worth of US$24.9 billion.

• Yanai built and runs Tokyo-listed retail clothing empire Fast Retailing, parent of the Uniqlo chain. He and his family own a 44% stake.
• Fast Retailing also owns two other chains: J Brand and Theory.
• Yanai is betting on growth in Asia, particularly China and Thailand, for Uniqlo.
• Yanai shelved a 2012 goal to open 1,000 Uniqlo stores in the U.S.; it had 47 American stores as of March 2017.
• Yanai wants his company to become the world’s largest retailer, which means it would have to surpass H&M and Inditex (parent of Zara).