Ariga says that is because he knows his customers - knowledge that separates him from his rivals.

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"If we had had only Japanese investors, we may never have realized the importance of shareholders, " Ariga says.

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"When our customers come in, they see, 'This is for us, '" says Ariga Kaoru, president of Ryohin Keikaku, which makes most of the items it sells in its 256 stores.

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