From humble street vending to a global retail empire, the story of Daiso stores.

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Founded in 1977, Daiso transformed from a modest Japanese street stall into a multinational retail giant with thousands of locations. While famous for its affordable, categorized household goods, the company has navigated complex international expansions, regulatory challenges, and a high-profile corporate divorce from its former Korean branch.

Daiso Industries Co., Ltd. began as a street vending operation called Yano Shoten, established by Hirotake Yano in 1972. By 1977, Yano had formally founded the company, which eventually grew to operate 4,625 stores in Japan and nearly 1,200 locations across 25 countries and regions. The brand is known for its unique categorization system, using the prefix za—the Japanese representation of the English word the—to label everything from fireworks to plastic buckets.

The company's international footprint is marked by both rapid growth and significant friction. In Taiwan, Daiso faced severe penalties after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster; the company was caught falsifying labels to hide the origin of food products from restricted Japanese prefectures. Subsequent investigations revealed that during a 2018 import ban, the company used forged permits to bring in over 2,000 metric tons of goods, leading to heavy fines and a two-year prohibition on import activities. Meanwhile, in Australia, the company faced a 2017 recall of 165 products, including toys that posed choking hazards.

Corporate identity has also been a point of contention. Daiso Korea, established in 1992, operated in cooperation with the Japanese parent company until 2011. Tensions rose over territorial disputes, leading the Korean entity to declare independence and rebrand. This culminated in December 2023, when Daiso Korea bought back its shares from the Japanese firm for approximately 500 billion won, becoming a fully independent, Korean-owned business. Today, the brand continues to evolve through new formats like Standard Products, which focuses on minimalist, sustainable goods at higher price points.

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