Both Ito-Yokado and 7-11 Japan were founded by Mr. Masatoshi Ito. He started his retail empire after the Second World War when he joined his mother and elder brother and began work in a small clothing store in Tokyo. By 1960 he was in sole control and the single store had grown into a $3 million company. After a trip to the United States in 1961, Ito became convinced that superstores were the wave of the future. At that time, Japan was still dominated by Mom-and-Pop stores.