His parents, Senzo and Yuki Itō, operated a dry goods shop named Yokado.
[1][3] Itō was the owner, founder and honorary chairman of the $30 billion (in sales) Ito-Yokado retailing group, the second largest retailing organization in the world, which includes more than 10,000 7-Elevens in Japan and the US.
Itō built the company from a small apparel store in Tokyo, into a corporation with annual revenues of more than $28 billion and a labour force of more than 125,000.
[citation needed] In 1992, Itō resigned as president of Ito-Yokado following allegations his staff made payments to the yakuza.
[5] Itō was a significant supporter of the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, with an initial $3 million gift to help build the school's current home and a subsequent $20 million gift.