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FamilyMart

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Family Mart" redirects here. For the defunct grocery chain in the United States, see A&P Family Mart.
FamilyMart Co., Ltd.
Native name
株式会社ファミリーマート
Kabushiki gaisha FamirīMāto
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryConvenience stores
FoundedSeptember 1973; 51 years ago (1973-09) in Sayama, Japan
(incorporated September 1, 1981; 43 years ago (1981-09-01))
FounderSeibu Retailing Group
HeadquartersTamachi Station Tower S,
Shibaura, Minato, Tokyo
,
Japan
Number of locations
24,941[1] (July 2021)
Areas served
Japan
Taiwan
China mainland
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
Indonesia
Malaysia
Key people
  • Koji Takayanagi
    (Director and Chairman)
  • Kensuke Hosomi
    (Representative Director and President)
Products
  • Onigiri (rice balls)
  • Hot snacks
  • Refrigerated meals
  • Oden (stew)
  • Coffee and frappe beverages
RevenueJPY 477.5 bn[2] (2017)
JPY 42.8 bn (2017)
JPY 21.9 bn (2017)
Total assetsJPY 730.3 bn (2016)
Total equityJPY 295.2 bn (2016)
Number of employees
16,601 (2017)
Parent
SubsidiariesFamima!!
Websitewww.family.co.jp

The FamilyMart Company, Ltd. (Japanese: 株式会社ファミリーマート, Hepburn: Kabushikigaisha Famirīmāto) is a Japanese convenience store franchise chain, and a subsidiary of Itochu, a Japanese trading company. It is Japan's second largest convenience store chain, behind Seven-Eleven Japan. There are now 24,574 stores worldwide in Japan, Taiwan, China, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.[4] Its headquarters is on the 17th floor of the Sunshine 60 building in Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo.[5] There were some stores in Japan with the name Circle K Sunkus under the operation of FamilyMart. FamilyMart currently has franchise stores in Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam.

FamilyMart stores sell typical Japanese convenience store goods, including basic grocery items, magazines, manga, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks like sake, nikuman (steamed pork buns), fried chicken, onigiri/omusubi (rice balls), and bento. FamilyMart is known for its distinctive doorbell melody, which plays upon entering the store.[6] The doorbells are exclusively made by Panasonic. The melody is referred to as Melody Chime No. 1 – Daiseikyou, and was originally developed for Panasonic by Yasuhi Inada in 1978.[7]

History

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FamilyMart store in Sōma, Fukushima, Japan

The first FamilyMart opened in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, in 1973.[8]In 2002, it was listed as a company in Taiwan.[9]

In October 2013, FamilyMart opened its 10,000th store in Japan.[8][10] Operations in certain parts of Asia, especially China, continue to expand.[11]FamilyMart also operated stores in South Korea from 1990 until 2014, when FamilyMart sold its stake in BGF Retail and divested from South Korea.[12][13]

As of January 2018, there were 24,243 stores worldwide; 17,409 stores in Japan, 3,165 stores in Taiwan, 2,177 stores in China, 1,138 stores in Thailand, 277 stores in Malaysia, 66 stores in the Philippines, 165 stores in Vietnam, and 87 stores in Indonesia.

FamilyMart was a subsidiary of the FamilyMart UNY Holdings Co., Ltd. (UFHD), which also owned supermarket chain Uny, until 2020. UFHD was dissolved when Uny was acquired by the parent company of Don Quijote in 2020.

FamilyMart Co.'s parent company is Itochu, a Japanese trading company, with a stake of 50.1%.[3] On July 8, 2020, Itochu announced it would spend approximately ¥580 billion (approx USD$5.5 billion) to purchase 100% of FamilyMart, with the intent to sell 4.9% of the shares to Zen-Noh and Norinchukin Bank.[14] FamilyMart shareholders approved the takeover on October 26, and the stock was delisted on November 12, thus leading the completion of the acquisition.[15]

International operations

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Mainland China

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A FamilyMart store in Beijing, China

FamilyMart opened its first store in Shanghai, China, in 2004. Since then, the chain has expanded to Guangzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou. Other stores are in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuxi, Beijing and Dongguan. By December 2020, there are over 2,967 FamilyMart stores in mainland China.[16]

Malaysia

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A FamilyMart Mini vending machine in Shell Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur

FamilyMart opened its first store in Malaysia at Wisma Lim Foo Yong in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur on November 11, 2016. It has become popular because it is the first convenience store selling soft serve ice cream and fresh snacks.[17]

FamilyMart Malaysia are owned by Maxincome Resources Sdn Bhd which is one of QL Resources Bhd subsidiary. They had a 20-year agreement with FamilyMart Co Ltd.[18]

All of FamilyMart Malaysia's food service and ready-to-eat selections are made with halal ingredients only. The service is currently in the midst of the halal application process with JAKIM. The products available in FamilyMart that are Halal certified will carry the Halal logo on its packaging. For products that are imported from Japan, Korea or Taiwan, the product ingredients will be vetted to ensure that no haram ingredients such as pork, lard or alcoholic substance were used. Customers will be able to read the ingredients information on the food or drinks packaging before purchase to ensure hassle-free consuming.[19] In April 2019, FamilyMart Malaysia was one of the F&B outlets that was chosen by PLUS Malaysia Berhad, the largest expressway in Malaysia to set up their stores in one of the R&R areas.[20]

As of May 6, 2021, there are 242 stores nationwide,[21] marking the 200th store milestone on the first store in Penang[22] after its 100th store in Melaka.[23] By 2022, they planned to open 300 stores nationwide.[24]

Philippines

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FamilyMart was launched in the Philippines on April 7, 2013[25] under the ownership of Ayala Corporation, Rustan's Group and Itochu.[26][27][28] Philippine FamilyMart CVS Inc. is the official Philippine franchisee of FamilyMart. Its first Philippine branch, opened on April 22, 2013, is located at the Glorietta 3 mall in Makati. In 2017, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., a unit of the Davao-based conglomerate Udenna Corporation, acquired the franchise from the triumvirate; it was completed in 2018.[29][30] There are now more than 65 stores in the Philippines, including those built at select Phoenix Petroleum stations.

On November 21, 2019, FamilyMart opened its largest outlet in the world, with an area of 390 square meters (4,200 sq ft), at Udenna Tower in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.[31][32]

A FamilyMart store in Nu Sentral (KL Sentral), Kuala Lumpur

Taiwan

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In 1988, FamilyMart began opening stores in Taiwan.[33]As of October 2021, FamilyMart has over 3,600 stores in Taiwan.[33] FamilyMart provides banking and bill payment services and as of 2018, FamilyMart accepts the highest number of bill payments among convenience stores in Taiwan, with over 100 million bills paid per year.[34]

A Taiwan FamilyMart is on the right, while another convenience store is right across the street.

FamilyMart sued to end its partnership with Ting Hsin in 2019, which would end a 15-year joint venture.[35][36]

Thailand

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FamilyMart opened its first store in 1993 and grew to over 1,000 locations within the next decades. In May 2020, FamilyMart transferred their 49% stake of the Thai joint venture to partner Central Group. Despite FamilyMart's effective exit from the venture, they maintained licensing rights and store locations retained the company's name.[37] Their franchise agreement with Central ended in 2023, and FamilyMart exited Thailand as its roughly 200 remaining stores in the country were to be converted to Central's Tops Daily brand.[38]

Vietnam

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FamilyMart opened its first store in Vietnam in 2009, starting in Ho Chi Minh City.[39] Initially the stores were operated in a joint venture with Vietnamese distributor Phu Thai Group, after 2013, both companies went their own way, and Phu Thai Group took over a number of FamilyMart stores and started operating them under its own brand B's Mart. As of 2017, FamilyMart operated 130 stores in Ho Chi Minh City.[40]

Former

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Korea

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Main article: CU (store)
FamilyMart in Kaesong, North Korea

At the end of May 2012, the number of operating FamilyMart stores had reached 7,271. In June 2012, FamilyMart of South Korea, which was being run by FamilyMart Corporation and BGF Retail, was renamed and converted to 'CU' (short for "Convenience for You") under ownership of BGF Retail after an order coming from BGF Retail that required FamilyMart to leave the South Korean market, and to cease operations there.[41] At the end of March 2014, FamilyMart withdrew from the South Korean market completely.

In addition, South Korean franchisees had operated a number of stores at Kaesong Industrial Region and Mount Kumgang Tourist Region in North Korea for South Korean visitors and workers; all the stores are now closed.

United States

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Main article: Famima!!

Beginning in July 2005, FamilyMart began building and opening several stores in Los Angeles, California, under the name Famima!!. After freezing the number of locations at 10 in 2010,[citation needed] FamilyMart closed all eight of its Famima!! convenience stores in the United States and liquidated Famima Corp. USA, withdrawing from the United States in October 2015.[42][43]

Solar power

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FamilyMart has had solar power at some of its stores since at least 2004.[44] It aims to increase its solar energy footprint in the future. There are around 45,000 convenience stores in Japan. Lawson run just under 10,000, a market share just behind 7-Eleven, who have about 13,000 stores. Currently, only 20 of Lawson's stores are equipped with solar equipment, but they plan to expand that number ahead of the July 1, 2012 introduction of a "feed-in tariff system", which the government and electricity companies say guarantees purchases of electricity from renewable sources such as solar or wind generators. Surplus power can be sold only after in-store lighting and air-conditioning have been powered.[45]

Automatic cashiers

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On 30 January 2006, FamilyMart began trials of an automatic cashier station at one of its Tokyo stores in cooperation with Itochu and Toshiba. Special tags on items in the customer's shopping basket are remotely and instantly sensed at the register.

Controversies

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Labor Commission case by franchise owners

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Seventeen convenience store owners of FamilyMart stores formed a union and requested collective bargaining with the company. They were refused and sued. In April 2015 the Central Labor Commission of Japan found that FamilyMart had violated the Trade Union Law by refusing to negotiate with the union. The franchise owners were recognized as employees under the trade union law, and the company was ordered to pledge to the union that it would not repeat the offence.[46][47]

Rat infestation incident

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In August 2019, footage emerged of as many as six rats scurrying through a FamilyMart store in Shibuya, near sushi displays and down aisles. FamilyMart responded by shutting the store, in order to investigate the cause of the problem, and apologised if the "unsanitary" footage had made customers feel "uneasy".[48]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Includes franchise and overseas stores. "地域別店舗数 （2015年4月30日現在）". FamilyMart. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  2. ^ Corporate revenue; total chain revenue was JPY 3,009 bn.
  3. ^ a b "Basic Information about Our Stock". Archived from the original on 2022-05-08. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  4. ^ "店舗数".
  5. ^ "Company Information Archived 2010-01-29 at the Wayback Machine." FamilyMart. Retrieved on April 7, 2010.
  6. ^ "ThatsMags.com Shanghai." Retrieved on November 9, 2018.
  7. ^ "FamilyMart's iconic door jingle doesn't belong to FamilyMart?! You can use it in your homes too!". SoraNews24 -Japan News-. 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  8. ^ a b "FamilyMart joins 10,000 outlets in Japan club". The Japan Times. 16 October 2013. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  9. ^ "About FamilyMart - Corporate Profile". www.family.com.tw. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  10. ^ "FamilyMart stores top 10,000 in Japan". The Japan News. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  11. ^ Topham, James (November 25, 2010). "FamilyMart to stay in US, China pace picks up, Reuters UK, November 25, 2010". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  12. ^ "FamilyMart calling it quits in South Korea". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  13. ^ "Japan's FamilyMart to sell BGF stake, exit South Korea". Reuters. 2014-04-03. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  14. ^ "Itochu to Fully Own FamilyMart". 8 July 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  15. ^ Kyodo News (26 October 2020). "FamilyMart shareholders OK Itochu taking convenience store private". Japan Today. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  16. ^ "全家Family Mart—开心尝鲜在全家-门店查询". www.familymart.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  17. ^ "Now open: First FamilyMart in KL". TimeOut Kuala Lumpur. 11 November 2016.
  18. ^ "QL Resources targets four FamilyMart stores by year end". The Star.
  19. ^ "FamilyMart Malaysia's statement on Halal applications". FamilyMart Malaysia's Facebook page. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26.
  20. ^ Chalil, Melanie (18 April 2019). "Family Mart, Sushi King among five F&B outlets coming to a PLUS R&R near you | Malay Mail". www.malaymail.com. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  21. ^ "Welcome | FamilyMart Malaysia". familymart.com.my. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  22. ^ "FamilyMart Malaysia". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  23. ^ "FamilyMart Malaysia". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  24. ^ "Annual Report 2020 (Page 37, paragraph 4)" (PDF).
  25. ^ "FamilyMart to open store in the Philippines, FamilyMart Glorietta3 outlet ready to welcome its first customers". FamilyMart. April 5, 2013. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  26. ^ "Ayala Land, Rustan's to bring in FamilyMart to challenge 7-Eleven, MiniStop". Archived from the original on 2012-11-10. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  27. ^ Japan's FamilyMart firms up Philippine investment Archived December 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine (News5)
  28. ^ ファミリーマート、伊藤忠商事、AyalaグループとRustanグループの合弁会社"SIAL"の3社がフィリピンにおけるファミリーマートの展開で合弁契約を締結 (FamilyMart, Itochu, Ayala-Rustan's JV company "SIAL" join forces to launch FamilyMart in the Philippines) Archived November 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine (FamilyMart)
  29. ^ Dumlao-Abadilla, Doris (October 30, 2017). "Dennis Uy buys FamilyMart PH". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  30. ^ "Phoenix Petroleum completes acquisition of Philippine Family Mart". Phoenix Petroleum. January 11, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  31. ^ "World's largest FamilyMart to open in Manila". Inside Retail Asia. October 8, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  32. ^ Doctor, Abraham (November 21, 2019). "LOOK: THE WORLD'S BIGGEST FAMILYMART IS NOW SERVING AT BGC!". Udenna Group. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  33. ^ a b Michel, Patrick (2021-10-11). "Japan's convenience stores look to the future". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2021-10-11. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  34. ^ "No simple stereotype of Taiwan's young people". Taiwan Insights. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  35. ^ Matsuda, Naoki (2019-05-21). "FamilyMart sues to end Chinese joint venture with Ting Hsin". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2024-08-19.
  36. ^ Wang, Cindy; Chang, Rachel (2019-05-19). "Japan's FamilyMart Seeks Split From Chinese Partner". Fortune. Retrieved 2024-08-19.
  37. ^ "FamilyMart looks to halt Asia losing streak after Thailand retreat". Nikkei Asia. 9 August 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-10-10. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  38. ^ Akama, Kenya (11 August 2023). "Japan's FamilyMart exits Thailand as 7-Eleven's dominance grows". Nikkai Asia. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  39. ^ "Japan's FamilyMart seeks growth in Vietnam". Reuters. 22 April 2009.
  40. ^ "Japan's FamilyMart may limit investment in Vietnam following losses". 11 May 2017.
  41. ^ "2013 대한민국 브랜드스타 CU, 울릉도·백령도...한국형 편의점 전국 7000개". Archived from the original on 2014-10-25.
  42. ^ "Merger Creates Japan's Second-Largest C-Store Chain".
  43. ^ "Famima Convenience Stores Closing Doors, Exiting U.S. | CSPnet". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  44. ^ Yuasa, Izumi "DoCoMo tower runs on wind, sunlight". The Japan Times, September 15, 2004. Retrieved on September 26, 2012.
  45. ^ Tokyo Weekender Solar Convenience Stores May 9, 2012 Retrieved on September 26, 2012
  46. ^ Convenience store owners recognized as workers April 16, 2015 Archived April 27, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Mainichi Shimbun Retrieved April 20, 2015
  47. ^ FamilyMart Ordered to Accept Labor Talks with Franchisees April 16, 2015 Jiji Retrieved April 20, 2015
  48. ^ "Japanese grocery chain apologises after rat video". 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
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