The company was founded as Men's Shop Ogori Shoji in 1949, and formally incorporated as Ogōri Shōji Co., Ltd. in 1963 by Hitoshi Yanai.[4]
In 1984, the company, which ran a menswear store in Ube, Yamaguchi, opened a new casual-wear store named Unique Clothing Warehouse in Hiroshima City; this was the forebear of Uniqlo.[5]
In September 1991, Ogori Shoji changed its name to Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., and was listed on the Hiroshima Stock Exchange in July 1994.[5]
In February 1999, it was listed on the first section (large companies) of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.[5]
The company also owns the American brand Theory; Fast Retailing acquired "an equity stake in Link Theory Holdings Co Ltd, the marketer of the Theory and Helmut Lang apparel brands, in 2004".[6] It acquired the rest of the company in 2009.
