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Life in the Fast Retailing Lane

Tadashi Yanai was supposed to retire years ago, but the 77-year-old head of Uniqlo is still vetoing sweaters, consulting his wife, and recruiting designers like J.W. Anderson for the $20 billion business. What he doesn’t have is a succession plan.

Tadashi Yanai
Tadashi Yanai, founder and C.E.O. of Uniqlo parent company Fast Retailing, poses at the company's office in Tokyo. Photo: Shoko Takayasu/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Lauren Sherman
July 13, 2026

Twice a season, the creative teams at Uniqlo meet to present collection concepts to executives and the board of Fast Retailing, including Tadashi Yanai, the company’s founder and mastermind. Like many of his micromanaging contemporaries, from Mickey Drexler to Bernard Arnault, Yanai’s level of involvement is astonishing. He personally looks at every single piece that the teams put out, often calling on the opinion of his wife, Teruyo Nagaoka, who has no formal role at the company but whose taste he trusts implicitly.