Billionaire Hisao Nagata, 68, is the founder and Chairman of Trial Holdings which is a supermarket chain. The company also has interests in Information Technology and developing Artificial Intelligence systems.
His son Hiroyuki is also a director. The company was founded by Oumi as a thrift store in 1974 then named Asahiya in Fukuoka.
Hisao took over the management of the company in 1981. The name of the company was changed in 1984 to Trial Company.
Trial is known for developing technology which is instrumental in reducing labor costs and at the same time increasing efficiency which include AI-powered cameras and self-checkout shopping carts.
Trial operates an excess of 300 stores in Japan and is reported to have earned $4.4 billion in revenues for the financial year ending June 2023.
Trial Holdings was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in March 2024. The company’s first discount store was opened in 1992.
Hisao Nagata is a writer with a focus on retail AI as well as digitalization. In 2022, he published a book titled “How to Win the Retail Digital Transformation.”
End
