Richest person in Japan 2009

Do you know who is the richest person in Japan 2009 ?
AV actress ? Nope :-)

The person is Mr Tadashi Yanai, 60 years old. The founder and owner of Uniqlo. Presently, there are three outlets in Singapore and many outlets in Japan including small outlets within major train stations such as Tokyo Station as well as in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. His net worth is $6.1 billion (properly in US Dollars) and married with 2 children

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I first came across Uniqlo when I was in Tokyo 9 years ago. I din expect and plan to buy much things in Tokyo as it is pretty expensive including clothing. We just happen to do the usual window shopping at the store when we were in the Times Square in Shinjuku (the shop had shifted out). Was surprised that i could buy a nice shirt for S$15 with nice cutting and decent material. I am still wearing it till now. Since then, i have enjoyed shopping in Uniqlo for my clothing whenever i travel, if the outlet is available.



However, the pricing in Singapore seems to be higher. I make a simple comparison based on my recent trips and found that for a same piece of clothing, it would cost S$20 in Tokyo, S$35 in Hong Kong and about S$50 in Singapore. Of course, not all items are more expensive here. The sock costs about the same as those in Japan and Hong Kong. The fact that the company has shifted its production from China to Cambodia to reduce its costs, it should not be costing so much locally. Maybe, the rental has contributed partly to it. One observation made in Tokyo was that not all the outlets carry the same range of products and that have make me to visit one whenever i came across. I bought a few more at the Narita Airport before flying home.

I think their presence could have caused some challenges to other retailers such as Bossini, Giordano, G2000 etc. It is, indeed, a competitive industry. I have patronized less of others and just bought 4 pants from Unilqo from 313@Somerset over the last weekend.

I hope Mr Tadashi Yanai would consider the publishing industry and then I can buy cheaper and interesting books locally and whenever I travel. But, please provide both English and Chinese books, not just Japanese books. Making it appealing and conveniently to the international buyers are very important.

Emm... just realise that he seems to have more hair than me. Ha...ha...ha..