Hirotake Yano (矢野 博丈; April 19, 1943 – February 12, 2024) was a Japanese businessman who was the founder of the Daiso discount retail chain.
[1] Yano's family moved back to his father's home town Higashi-Hiroshima when World War II ended.
[3] Yano's father would not send him to university unless he studied science or engineering-related subjects which would lead to a good job, so he could not apply for a sports scholarship.
[1][2] With difficulties finding employment after graduation, Yano and his wife took over her father's aquaculture business rearing yellowtail fish.
[1] He worked in a bowling alley and then in a cardboard and paper recycling company which enabled him to repay some of his debts.
This coincided with the start of a shift in Japanese consumer culture after the oil crisis and economic downturn of the mid-1970s, leading to success for the company.
He said he doesn't have any clear vision or strategy, and that he just likes to try things out and makes decisions based on gut instinct.