Uniqlo: The art of the universal, from Hiroshima to major cities worldwide

While Uniqlo’s presence in Lebanon is limited to a few items sold online, its absence highlights both the small size of the local market and a sense of marginalization, given how deeply rooted the brand is in countries with higher standards of living, despite its affordable prices.The story began in Hiroshima in the 1980s. Tadashi Yanai, the son of a shop owner, took over his family’s small menswear store. Nothing suggested he would turn it into a company that would reshape the global map of ready-to-wear fashion. Yet behind his quiet manner and calm voice, Yanai carried a boundless ambition: to make fashion accessible to all.Hiroshima, a provincial city, demanded practical, durable, and inexpensive clothes. Yanai, a Waseda University graduate who joined the family business in 1972, was already a unique figure — curious about the world,...