The founder of global fashion retailer Uniqlo has announced plans to step down from his chief executive role.
Tadashi Yanai – who opened the first Uniqlo store in Hiroshima in 1984 – told Japanese financial publication The Nikkei that while he is due to step down from his chief executive roles of parent company Fast Retailing, he will continue on as chairman.
He said this will be effective once he turns 70 in 2019.
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Yanai hinted that his successor should be someone young and has the ability to make quick decisions to keep up with the fashion industry.
“Young people must handle actual management,” he told The Nikkei.
“The next CEO will be the most suited person among our current executive officers.
Fast Retailing has over 40 executive officers, two of whom are Yanai’s children. He denied that either will be his successor.
The news comes after Yanai went back on a promise he made in 2013 to retire as president when he turned 65.
It also follows a series of trading updates that indicate Fast Retailing’s earnings are recovering, with higher revenue and profit for the fiscal year ended in August.
Uniqlo currently operates 10 stores in the UK.
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