Uniqlo founder aims to exit, looks for successor in next 2 years

The founder and president of Fast Retailing, Uniqlo's parent company, is looking to step down, according to Nikkei Asian Review. The fashion veteran will be looking for a successor in the next 2 years.Fast Retailing has struggled over the past few years, as domestic online sales accounted for just 6% of the total in the last fiscal year, a long ways below the company's near-term goal of 30%.This stands in contrast with Uniqlo's push in South East Asia, where it launched a new flagship store in Surabaya in August this year, and its apparent popularity among Chinese consumers, where it topped the list of consumers' favourite apparel brands.On the other hand, competition with online retailers like Amazon.com of the U.S. and China's Alibaba has intensified.Under Yanai's supervision, the small shop in western Japan was transformed into the world's third-largest apparel brand in one generation.