THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
December 1, 2023 at 18:06 JST
A scene from a runway show that FamilyMart Co. held for the first time in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward on Nov. 30. (Kentaro Uechi)
Convenience store chain operator FamilyMart Co. held its first-ever runway show promoting its original apparel dubbed “Convenience Wear” on Nov. 30.
The runway venue, resembling a typical FamilyMart convenience store, was set up near Tokyo’s Harajuku district for the show.
About 100 models, including FamilyMart franchise owners and their family members, walked down the runway while wearing the brand’s denim jackets, coats and other items.
The company in recent years has ventured into selling clothes.
In March 2021, the company decided to create new clothing to be sold at its stores.
Hiromichi Ochiai, a fashion designer who has participated in Paris Men’s Fashion Week, was asked to design the new items.
The company used the expertise of Itochu Corp., FamilyMart’s parent company, for the selection and procurement of the materials.
The company branded the newly designed items as Convenience Wear.
Upon selling about 100 items that include socks, handkerchiefs and T-shirts, they found a hit with a pair of socks featuring blue and green lines--the signature colors of the convenience store.
More than a million of the socks were sold within about a year.
The company then started selling cardigans, shorts and sandals, among other items.
The company said an increasing number of female customers are buying the items.
Overall, sales of the Convenience Wear brand increased 60 percent within the one-year period starting from March 2022 compared to the same period from the previous year.
The company unveiled a denim jacket priced at 9,990 yen ($67), including tax, and a bench coat for 19,990 yen at the runway show.
The two items will be available at a FamilyMart store in Azabudai Hills, the newly opened commercial facility in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, from Dec. 5.
Sweatshirts and pants, priced at 2,990 yen, will be available at all stores nationwide.
(This article was written by Kentaro Uechi and Yoko Masuda.)
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