The founder of the popular discount retailer Daiso which is credited with pioneering the dollar store business model has died of heart failure at the age of 80.
The BBC reports that billionaire Hirotake Yano died on February 12 and that family has already held a private funeral.
The Japanese business opened at least 90 stores in the United States with locations in California, New York, Texas, Washington, New Jersey, Arizona and Nevada.
Bloomberg reports the 80 year old had a net worth of $1.9 billion when he died. He ran his father-in-law’s fishery until it went bankrupt. He got the idea of a dollar store when he successfully began selling items from the back of a truck in 1972.
In five years, he took his concept indoors and decided to sell everything for 100 yen to save time having to put on price tags. He expanded his business model overseas in Taiwan in 2001 and now boasts 5,000 stores worldwide.
The retailer now sells merchandise in multiples of 100 yen.
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