Genichi Tamatsuka

Profile
Appointed
Nov 2002
Name in Japanese
玉塚元一
Title at appointment
Representative Director, President and COO
Performance in office
Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)
Performance in office
FY2002FY2005Change
Revenue¥344.1billion¥383.9billion+12%
Net margin8.1%8.8%+0.7pt
Tadashi YanaiTamatsukaTadashi Yanai
Revenue¥228.9 billionRevenue¥814.8 billionNet margin15.1%Net margin7.6%1997/82000/82005/82010/8
Revenue¥228.9 billionRevenue¥814.8 billionNet margin15.1%Net margin7.6%1997/82000/82005/82010/8
API: /api/9983/financials_history.csv · /api/9983/financials/pl.json
Tenure

Tenure

Background

He joined Asahi Glass, earned an MBA in the United States, and after a stint at IBM Japan joined Fast Retailing in 1998. He became Director and General Manager of Marketing in 1999, Managing Director in 2000, and Representative Director and Executive Vice President in June 2002, and was responsible for the UK and China businesses. He was the first president from outside the founding family, and unlike the Yanai family, which ranked among the major shareholders, he had no shareholding behind him.

Education: Keio University, Faculty of Law (1985)
Education: Case Western Reserve University, MBA (1997)
Education: Thunderbird School of Global Management, Graduate School of International Management, Master of International Management (1998)

Selection

The change of president was announced on May 7, 2002, and Tadashi Yanai became Chairman in November. Differences in management style with Executive Vice President Takashi Sawada, seen as the front-runner, could not be bridged, and Tamatsuka, who had been running the UK and China businesses, was chosen as the next president. Same-store sales in April 2002 were down 43% year on year, and the change came amid the continuing backlash from the fleece boom.

Initiatives

Calling for a return to the basics, he strengthened women's products and built up the design function. In July 2002 the company set up an in-house 'Uniqlo University,' replacing training previously outsourced wholesale with its own program tied to store operations and personnel evaluation. In March 2003 it closed 16 regional UK stores, keeping five around London, and in June of that year sales at its roughly 600 directly run stores exceeded the prior year's for the first time in 19 months.

Career

Career

Asahi Glass

Date Position
1985 Joined

IBM Japan

Date Position
1998 Joined

Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)

Date Position
1998 Joined
1999 Director, General Manager, Marketing Department
2000 Managing Director
Jun 2002 Representative Director, Executive Vice President
Nov 2002 Representative Director, President and COO
Aug 2005 Stepped down as President and Director
Sep 2005 Stepped down as President