Chances are, you’re wearing a YKK product right now.
Seriously, check it out. I’m betting the pants you have on have a YKK zipper. Or the blazer that’s hanging on your chair. If it has a zipper, there’s a 45% chance it’s a YKK. More, if you’re in the US or Europe.
YKK is the name of the leading zipper producer in the world, a Japanese firm called Yoshida Kogyo Kabushiki Gaisha (or Yoshida Manufacturing Corporation), and they OWN the global market for zippers.
They’ve begun to face some competition at the lower end, with Chinese firms such as SBS, but still dominate due to their strong ties with luxury and association with higher quality zippers. To the extent that you have a whole market for fake YKK zippers in China…
It’s the most prominent brand that nobody’s ever heard of.