UNIQLO's founder tries to find a way to beat Zara and H&M

    When asked what guides his vision of UNIQLO, Tadashi Yanai, its founder and chief executive, pulls off the shelf the 1987 autumn/winter collection catalogue of Next, a mass-market British retailer. All of the clothes are so {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, he says, that they could be worn today. While Zara of Spain and H&M of Sweden follow fashion trends without having any original thought, UNIQLO of Japan {#blank#}2{#/blank#} to timeless basics.

    Mr. Yanai has a/an {#blank#}3{#/blank#} base at home from which to develop into his Western competitors' main markets of Europe and America. But instead his {#blank#}4{#/blank#} remains Asia. "Asia is the engine of growth today," he says, pointing to the millions of consumers across the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} who are reaching the middle class. UNIQLO will open its first shop in India this year and is considering {#blank#}6{#/blank#} into Vietnam and other countries (it has already opened networks of shops in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand).

The success or not of UNIPLO's overseas operations {#blank#}7{#/blank#} greatly to investors at home. Fast Retailing's shares — Mr. Yanai owns just over 20% of the firm — have been rising since 2015, nalysts estimate, largely owing to its international expansion and improved logistics (物流). At home the firm is closing stores because the population is {#blank#}8{#/blank#}. Last year UNIQLO's international profits overtook its {#blank#}9{#/blank#} sales for the first time and its foreign operation profits almost equaled its Japanese equivalent.

    Though they are very different markets, Europe and America offer a cautionary tale. UNIQLO in America struggled outside the big cities of the east and west coasts. Growth in America remains {#blank#}10{#/blank#} for UNIQLO both there and in Europe. However, Mr. Yanai, an enthusiastic fan of globalization, is confident that he can guide UNIQLO through the changes needed.

    The brain is a seemingly endless library, whose shelves house our most precious memories. To allow new memories to form, old information is sometimes pushed out of the brain.

    Previous studies have shown that learning new information can lead to {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. But in a new study, researchers showed for the first time how this effect {#blank#}2{#/blank#} in the brain.

    In daily life, forgetting actually has clear {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Imagine, for instance, that you lost your bank card. The new card you receive will come with a new personal identification number (PIN). Each time you remember the new PIN, you gradually forget the old one. This process improves access to {#blank#}4{#/blank#} information, without old memories interfering.

    And most of us may sometimes feel {#blank#}5{#/blank#} when old memories interfere with new, relevant memories. Consider trying to remember where you parked your car in the same car park you were at a week earlier. This type of memory is particularly interfering.

    When we get new information, the brain automatically tries to combine it with existing information by {#blank#}6{#/blank#} associations. And when we retrieve（检索）information, both the desired and {#blank#}7{#/blank#} but irrelevant information is recalled.

    The majority of previous research has focused on how we learn and remember new information. But current studies are beginning to put greater {#blank#}8{#/blank#} on the conditions under which we forget, as its importance begins to be more appreciated.

    A very small number of people are able to remember almost every detail of their life. Though it may sound like an advantage to many, people with this rare condition often find their {#blank#}9{#/blank#} ability troublesome. In a sense, normal forgetting may help to ensure our brain doesn't become too full.