CNN —Hirotake Yano, the Japanese billionaire founder of Daiso Industries who helped popularize the discounted dollar-shop concept, has died of heart failure.
Yano’s net worth was about $1.9 billion at the time of his death, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
It has grown into a retail empire, with over 4,360 stores across Japan and more than 990 overseas stores of the end of 2023, according to its website.
Daiso first ventured overseas in 2001, opening branches in Taiwan and South Korea.
The discount chain made over 550 billion yen ($ 3.6 billion) in sales as of February 2022, according to the privately-held company.
Persons:
CNN — Hirotake Yano, Yano, Daiso
Organizations:
CNN, Daiso Industries, Bloomberg, Tokyo’s Chuo University, CouCou
Locations:
Hiroshima, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, United States, Seria