Uniqlo ユニクロ

Uniqlo grew out of a small men's clothing store, Ogori Shoji, run by the Yanai family in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture. In 1984, Tadashi Yanai opened the first 'Unique Clothing Warehouse' — later shortened and trademarked as Uniqlo — in Hiroshima, selling casual clothing in a self-service, warehouse-style format that was unusual for Japanese apparel retail at the time.

Under Yanai, who leads parent company Fast Retailing, Uniqlo grew rapidly through the 1990s with basics like fleece jackets, and later became known for functional fabrics such as HEATTECH and AIRism, developed with Japanese textile maker Toray. It expanded overseas starting with a London store in 2001, and now operates as one of the world's largest clothing retailers, alongside frequent designer collaborations such as with Jil Sander (+J) and artist KAWS.