Japan’s FamilyMart opened what could be the world’s first konbini for fashion. It’s far more charming than it sounds or looks

In September, the popular Japanese convenient store FamilyMart opened the first free-standing store for its apparel line, Convenient Wear, in a smallish space—called cheekily Famima!! (yes, with two exclamation marks; more on that later) within a much larger FamilyMart. This is at the newly opened Blue Front Shibaura complex, a mixed-use, sea-facing glass edifice in the Tokyo Bay area. The location may not be the most convenient, since it’s not exactly in the heart of Tokyo or anywhere near the Yamanote line, but it has not stopped many visitors from Southeast Asia from going there for a closer look. One Singaporean couple, who trekked there on the first morning in Tokyo told SOTD that they had to go because they “heard so much about it. Besides, we can have breakfast there!”

That in itself is convenience. The dedicated 62-square-metres clothing space (about the size of a HDB bedroom) is, in fact, part of a regular FamilyMart store, situated behind the lone wall that distinguishes the apparel zone. The configuration for Convenient Wear, with its own frontage, is described as a “satellite shop”, and is part of the main brand’s ecosystem (reportedly, the Family Mart HQ is also here in Blue Front Shibaura). Behind Famima!! is where you will be able to see the familiar konbini and buy a carton of milk, bread (and assorted pastries) or FamilyMart’s popular famichiki (fried chicken, and admittedly scrumptious) or, in the cooler months, oden (Japanese stew). It is understandable why our Singaporean couple had planned to go there to shop and eat.

Convenient Wear itself is surprisingly minimalist in design and layout. When you approach the store, you will see what looks like seven standees, behind which are the racks for the merchandise. The store is as neat as it is spare, generating a modern boutique vibe. Visual merchandising is straightforward, and the layout does not require tricky navigation. The entire operation is minimal to the point that even staffing is done away with. Purchases are tracked by a system of cameras (similar to other FamilyMart unmanned concepts) and sensors the minute the customer steps into the zone. When an item is picked, the system registers it as a purchase using ceiling cameras and weight sensors on the shelves. Payment is made at a small self-checkout terminal in the rear of the store.

It is should be stated that Convenient Wear is not a place for your fashion fix. It is really where you’d pick up a T-shirt to wear under your shacket, underwear if you suddenly decide not to go home (or back to the hotel) for whatever reason, or socks because it has been raining and you did not have on weather-proof sneakers. Talking about socks, those from Famima!!, in their corporate colours of blue and green (pictured below, top row, right), are apparently very popular. According to local media reports, those “Line socks” have sold over 28 million pairs since the launch of Convenient Wear in 2021. In fact, the socks (knitted with anti-bacterial and deodorizing processing) are widely credited with transforming the perception of convenience store clothing in Japan—from an emergency purchase into a vaguely fashionable, high-quality, and highly desirable item.

Before Famima!! came into being as fashion retail post, the main brand sold basic clothes. So serious there were about developing their own line of apparel that two years after the idea was developed, FamilyMart staged a fashion show in 2023 to officially launch the collection. Famima!! itself was, at first, FamilyMart’s upscale convenience store brand in the U.S., launched in 2004. Stores opened in Southern California between 2005 and 2013, targeting urban professionals aged 21–41 with premium deli-style foods, sushi, panini, and a sleeker interior compared to what was evident back home. Despite its cult following, Famima!! closed in 2015, unable to scale against entrenched U.S. convenience formats. Back home, Famima (without the curious double exclamation mark) was more than portmanteau nickname. In 2010, it became a house brand.

But FamilyMart decided to revive the exclamation marks and had them bethroned , again, to Famima—this time as the standalone store for Convenient Wear. The ‘!!’ marks a shift from utility to lifestyle, perhaps symbolising something more expressive than what their past apparel offering was about. But Convenience Wear is, as the name suggests, about having standby garments within reach. Despite designer Hiromichi Ochiai of Facetasm leading the brand, it is essentially basic wear in case you need them. It is not fashion per se. In fact, it would be hard to get a complete look to wear on a night out with friends. It’s more like when you’re with them and you spilled red wine on your shirt, Famima!! got you. Convenient Wear, cool as they may be, is really designed for contingency, not curation.

Photos: Meiru Matsuya for SOTD