Konosuke Matsushita was a visionary entrepreneur. He started working very young as a teenager, and he eventually created Panasonic to become a truly global company.
At first, Uniqlo was a casual chain on the back streets of Hiroshima. Then... we became a national brand in Japan. So, the next step is to become a global brand.
Japan has only 100m people. Asia has 4bn. At least one-third, maybe nearly half, will become middle class, and this is a big opportunity for Japanese businessmen.
Our international success started out first because we became the No. 1 casual wear brand in our home market of Japan. Then, we set up stores in the world's major fashion centers of New York, Paris and London.
The Asian brand, which I admire for having become a global success, is Samsung. In comparison, we're just starting, but I believe that we at Uniqlo will be the next Asian brand to do well globally.
Wal-Mart is an amazing success story. What I particularly admire very much about the late Sam Walton was his policy of valuing his employees. Giving value to employees is very rare in the retail industry. I also admire the strategies Walton used to build up his discount store concept.
If you always think about your dreams or goals, work steadfastly towards them and continue to challenge yourself, you will definitely be able to realise those dreams or goals.
The air of the English is down-to-earth. They care about details; there's a tradition, but there's also a counter-culture: the younger generation versus the older generation and so on. But then that's well blended into a happy balance and crystallised into common sense.
