Even if you can take these clothes out of Family Mart, but you can’t take the Family Mart out of these clothes.

Back in 2016, we were very hard-pressed to put together an outfit using only items bought from convenience store chain Family Mart. However, since then the company has greatly expanded on its fashionable offerings and even created their own brand called “Convenience Wear.”

The constantly growing line of shirts, pants, socks, underwear, and more has gotten to the point where Family Mart decided to phase out many of their stores’ eat-in areas to help make more room for it all. Now, they’re taking the biggest leap yet and opening a new store dedicated to their clothing.

This new retail outlet has been given the convenience store’s nickname of Famima and had its grand opening in Blue Front Shibaura in Minato Ward, Tokyo, on 1 September. It carries nearly all of Family Mart’s roughly 150 articles of clothing, including their most popular item: socks with stripes in the Family Mart color scheme, of which over 28 million pairs have been sold.

Also, in honor of Famima’s opening, items from the upcoming fall/winter line of Convenience Wear will be available for presale. Another unique feature of this shop is that, unlike in the convenience stores, where the clothing is all wrapped up, samples of the various items are hung and a mirror is set up so customers can feel the materials and check the sizes for themselves before buying.

▼ News report on the grand opening. It’s a small-scale store, but it’s a start.

It’s also a good opportunity to salute the person behind Convenience Wear. Hiromichi Ochiai is an award-winning fashion designer who also created the costumes for Japan in the handover portion of the Rio Olympic Games closing ceremony. He’s worked with several international corporations, but currently challenges himself by taking Family Mart to a place beyond a mere convenience store.

▼ Hiromichi Ochiai

The convenience store industry in Japan as a whole is facing several headwinds at the moment. The constant need for expansion and 24-hour operation against competing chains is only exasperating an already shrinking labor market. Also, rising costs that have seen quintessential items like rice balls nearly double in price are making customers rethink how much convenience is really worth.

Perhaps Famima will be Family Mart’s contingency plan in the event the Japanese convenience store market takes a serious turn for the worse. In that case, we may someday be able to bore our grandkids by telling them that the hugely popular chain of clothing stores Famima used to be a convenience store.

Store information
Famima Blue Front Shibaura S Building Store / ファミマブルーフロント芝浦S棟店
Address: Tokyo-to, Minato-ku, Shibaura 1-1-1, Blue Front Shibaura S Building 3F
東京都 港区芝浦一丁目1番1 ブルーフロント芝浦S棟3階
Open 7 a.m.-10 p.m.
Closed Sundays and public holidays

Source: PR Times, TBS News Dig
Images: PR Times
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