FamilyMart

FamilyMart is a Japanese convenience store chain and a subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation, a major trading company. It ranks as Japan's second largest convenience store chain, trailing only Seven-Eleven Japan, with Lawson in third place. As of July 2021, the chain operated 24,941 stores worldwide, including over 16,200 in Japan and more than 8,400 internationally across Asia. The corporate headquarters sits on the 17th floor of the Sunshine 60 building in Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo.

The brand traces its roots to August 19, 1948, when Jonas Co., Ltd. was incorporated. The FamilyMart brand itself launched in September 1973 when Seiyu Stores, Ltd. opened the first store in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture. In September 1981, the inactive Jonas Co., Ltd. acquired the convenience store business from Seiyu Stores and renamed itself FamilyMart Co., Ltd. The company listed on the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in December 1987 and moved to the First Section in August 1989. In August 2018, FamilyMart became a subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation, which had been its major shareholder since 2009.

FamilyMart stores stock typical Japanese convenience store fare: magazines, manga, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages like sake, and hot foods such as nikuman (steamed pork buns), Famichiki fried chicken, onigiri (rice balls), oden, and bento boxes. The chain's popular in-house brand is called Famima, and its signature fried chicken item, Famichiki, has become a cultural favorite in Japan. Services include ATMs, bill payment, auto-loading, and point card systems. The company introduced a point-of-sale system in September 1989 and launched its private label FamilyMart collection in October 2012.

FamilyMart is instantly recognizable by its distinctive doorbell melody, Melody Chime No. 1 – Daiseikyou, created by Yasuhi Inada in 1978 for Panasonic, which exclusively manufactures the doorbells. The corporate message, established in January 1989, is FamilyMart, Where You Are One of the Family. The Taiwanese slogan is FamilyMart is your home. International expansion began in August 1988 with Taiwan FamilyMart, followed by China in 2004, and later the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Former markets include South Korea, Thailand, the United States, and the Philippines (later exited). Some locations in Japan that formerly operated under the Circle K Sunkus banner have been absorbed into FamilyMart's network. [edit]