KYODO NEWS



 

Convenience stores, often referred to as "conbini" in Japan, have increasingly become a must-visit for tourists, offering a wide range of foods often heralded as higher quality than those found in visitors' home countries.

But the experience is now extending beyond fried chicken to fun with fashion.

Since launching its Convenience Wear clothing brand in 2021, FamilyMart Co. has seen its "Famima socks" explode in popularity, with Japanese celebrities like Takuya Kimura even spotted donning the now iconic green-and-blue-striped fashionwear.

Sales in the socks category, now available in a variety of colors and styles, surpassed 20 million pairs as of the end of May 2024, with revenue in fiscal 2023 exceeding 10 billion yen ($70 million), according to the company.

Takehiko Sugai, who oversees the Convenience Wear lineup at FamilyMart, said it was the global reputation of the Japanese conbini as trendy that inspired the line socks' design.

"Our corporate colors are perceived by international customers as very cool and sophisticated, even as fashion items. In fact, it's common to see people wearing our line socks in places like Paris," said Sugai.

As part of efforts to capture the growing inbound market, FamilyMart also collaborates with Fuji Rock Festival's organizers to release exclusive products under its Convenience Wear brand, such as socks and sweat towels.

"Customers are purchasing Convenience Wear as souvenirs," said Sugai. "At Fuji Rock, which attracts many foreign visitors every year, there were many overseas customers at the Convenience Wear sales booth."

As a subsidiary of major trading house Itochu Corp., which originated in the textile industry, FamilyMart is able to efficiently procure materials and reduce sales costs by having its parent company involved in the manufacturing process.

The convenience store also held the industry's first fashion show in Tokyo's Yoyogi National Stadium last November. Dubbed "Fami-Fest," the event featured a diverse range of models including guests of FamilyMart franchise stores, with around 2,000 people attending, according to Sugai.

Other major convenience store operators have since jumped on the fashion bandwagon, with Lawson Inc. this year launching socks and a handkerchief bearing blue and pink stripes in a nod to its classic branding.

While Lawson has been selling Muji branded clothing in its stores since 2022, its corporate color socks and handkerchief, made in collaboration with the brand's operator Ryohin Keikaku Co., are the first in its exclusive lineup.

The move comes as people are increasingly buying clothing at convenience stores, with sales per store in the Muji apparel category increasing by over 30 percent in the March to May period compared to the previous year, according to Lawson.

Meanwhile, Seven-Eleven Japan Co., the largest of the three major convenience stores in Japan by number of outlets, has yet to release any striped socks in its corporate colors.

But its convenience stores sell bare essentials like socks and briefs under its Seven Premium Lifestyle brand.

Booming tourism has boosted convenience store sales in Japan, with same-store sales of seven major convenience store operators totaling 1.01 trillion yen in July, eclipsing the previous year's figures for the eighth straight month, according to the Japan Franchise Association.

Julia Lu and Kim Mendoza, two American tourists in their 20s who were browsing beauty products in a Lawson outlet in Tokyo's Azabu-Juban district, said that the ubiquitous nature of convenience stores in Japan makes them an essential stop for any traveler.

"Even if it's not on the travel list because there's so many, you'll eventually find yourself in one," said Lu, while Mendoza added that their 24-hour availability makes them "the only thing that's really open in the morning."
 

 

The pair agreed that Japanese convenience stores also generally offer a more high-quality and diverse range of products than those back home, including those of famous brands.

"There's a lot of stores here that focus on health, like little vitamin C shots and stuff. In the United States, it's more just fueling energy with sugar," said Mendoza, who noted that convenience stores in her home state of Texas are usually just for quick stops at gas stations.

Aiming to cater to the increase in overseas visitors, Lawson earlier this month became the first major Japanese convenience store chain to introduce a badge for staffers to voluntarily wear to indicate foreign languages they can speak.

The company said it chose the seven languages covered -- English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Nepali -- based on those most commonly spoken by foreign tourists as well as the nationalities of staffers.

The global fascination with the Japanese conbini has also led some online merchandisers to resell popular Japanese snacks for overseas fans, with Sugoi Mart launching a "Conbini Box" in May 2023.

With its themed design adding to the novelty, the box is "a consistent best-seller" that is especially popular as a gift, said Spencer Sugimoto, senior director of brand management at Bokksu Inc., the operator of Sugoi Mart.

Priced at $39.99, it contains an assortment of hand-picked treats, anime-themed goods, and other seasonal items from convenience stores in Japan, as well as a pair of FamilyMart's viral socks.

"The FamilyMart socks gained popularity among young people in Japan with the very recognizable colors, and we see customers on social media thrilled when they discover that these are included," Sugimoto said.

FamilyMart, whose Convenience Wear lineup has now expanded to the point where customers can coordinate entire outfits, aims to normalize buying clothes at convenience stores, Sugai said.

"FamilyMart challenges itself by breaking free from conventional thinking to consistently create things that make people think, 'this would be great to have'," said Sugai. "In terms of scale and the range of apparel products available, FamilyMart is unparalleled worldwide."