Today’s world is unmistakably and increasingly interconnected, as growing Internet access, travel and trade accelerate the integration of global markets and the worldwide exchange of ideas, information, people and products. But with globalisation comes an opposite, if not equal, reaction. “In a globalised world, there will inevitably be many similar trends across the globe. And these, in turn, will generate opposition in the form of localisation, as people try to assert their own identity, which is only natural,” observed Mr Yanai, chairman, president and chief executive of Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo. “In order to do business anywhere, we need to have a firm grasp of what it means to be global and what it means to be local.”

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