Okayenji Yamamoto was uncertain that his enterprise would survive when he opened Japan’s first comfort retailer in a Tokyo neighbourhood in Could 1974. The 7-Eleven outlet he ran together with his spouse stocked tinned meals and detergents, gadgets that most individuals had beforehand purchased from supermarkets. His first sale was a pair of sun shades.
Half a century later, it isn’t solely the Yamamotos’ vibrant crimson and orange uniforms which have modified. Comfort shops – or konbini – are now not a late-night different to early-closing supermarkets, however a retail establishment that hundreds of thousands of Japanese folks couldn’t think about life with out.
The tinned tuna and washing-up liquid that took satisfaction of place on Yamamoto’s cabinets have been joined by rice balls, bento, sandwiches, crisps and snacks, sweets and chocolate, fruit and veg, freshly brewed espresso, steamed buns and fried hen, underwear, books and manga and – sure – cigarettes and alcohol.
Simply as it’s virtually unattainable to stroll by a Japanese city or metropolis with out encountering a merchandising machine, konbini are a fixture of the city panorama, their brightly lit frontages holding out promise of round the clock sustenance and well mannered, if purposeful, customer support. They encourage fierce loyalty of their prospects, who will debate with mates whether or not FamilyMart deserves its popularity for the perfect fried hen and 7-Eleven for the tastiest tamagosando – egg salad sandwiches.
Japan is house to greater than 56,000 konbini belonging to seven chains in a market value simply over 11.6tn yen (£58.6bn), in accordance with the Japan Franchise Affiliation, up greater than 4% from the earlier yr.
However the konbini expertise is about way over a lunchtime onigiri, an afterwork beer or a bar of chocolate to banish the late-night munchies.
This week I took up the comparatively easy problem of shopping for breakfast, lunch and dinner – and a nightcap – completely from konbini, in addition to finishing a few admin duties. At my native 7-Eleven I purchased a cup of scorching espresso, a slice of french toast and a bag of sliced apple for breakfast, withdrew money and paid an electrical energy invoice. Had I wanted to, I may have made photocopies or prints, purchased tickets for a live performance, sports activities occasion or theme park from a multipurpose terminal, and picked up an Amazon supply. Or spent a penny in its spotless bathrooms.
As I paid for my meals to eat at house, seated workplace employees have been benefiting from the free wifi and tucking into their breakfasts alongside an in-store counter, whereas a few salarymen acquired their morning nicotine repair behind the frosted glass of a smoking room.
Shoki Moriyama, a Tokyo firm worker in his 20s, is a recurring person, dividing his loyalties between the konbini close to his house and workplace.
“They’ve completely every part I would like, they usually’re open 24 hours,” mentioned Moriyama, who spends most of his konbini outlay on bento, desserts and drinks. “The one scarcity is of workers … That’s why we’re seeing extra shops with self-checkout.”
The standard konbini has additionally change into a vacation spot for vacationers, and never only for these decided to get the proper shot of Mount Fuji rising behind a department of Lawson. It’s not uncommon to identify guests pointing their smartphones at cabinets lined with vibrant bowls of instantaneous noodles and onigiri, whereas a complete nook of the web is dedicated to a must have of the konbini expertise: a tamagosando.
‘The right match for the Japanese life-style’
The march of the konbini has gone past Japan’s shores. Seven-Eleven Japan – now the goal of an more and more hostile takeover bid by a Canadian rival – has greater than 10,000 retailers every within the US, Thailand and South Korea, and has set its sights on a complete of 100,000 in 30 international locations, together with Japan, by the top of the last decade.
FamilyMart – or Famimā to its devotees – has virtually 8,000 shops in Asia, whereas Lawson goals to broaden its presence in China to about 10,000 shops by spring 2026.
“Konbini aren’t solely helpful; they change into acquainted and comforting,” mentioned Shinji Taya, a comfort retailer researcher with a penchant for onigiri and fried meals. “And so they launch new merchandise each week … It’s the proper match for the Japanese life-style.”
Taya, a every day konbini shopper whose obsession started when he labored on the headquarters of Lawson and 7-Eleven, mentioned shops have been attempting onerous to distinguish themselves in a near-saturated market.
“There was a time when comfort shops all seemed the identical, however that development is in decline. Now operators try to indicate their true colors,” he mentioned, including that the subsequent large factor could be an enlargement of frozen meals, together with staples akin to onigiri and bento.
Competitors is fierce because the “large three” chains try and court docket a dwindling buyer base in Japan, whose ageing inhabitants is in long-term decline, and handle a continual labour scarcity. The variety of shops reached a plateau 5 years in the past, forcing operators to refine and enhance their stock, from high-end onigiri to branded stationery and clothes, and abandon the more-is-better enterprise mannequin that sustained them throughout the increase years.
Which means innovation, and extra merchandise. FamilyMart’s Comfort Put on clothes line has exploded in reputation because it was launched in 2021, with its Famimā green-and-blue striped socks worn by the previous SMAP member Takuya Kimura.
The chain had bought greater than 20m pairs of socks as of the top of Could this yr, bringing in an additional 10bn yen.
Lawson adopted go well with this yr with socks and handkerchiefs bearing the chain’s immediately recognisable blue and pink stripes; whereas Lawson has been promoting Muji clothes in its shops since 2022.
“FamilyMart challenges itself by breaking free from typical considering to constantly create issues that make folks suppose: ‘This could be nice to have,’” Takehiko Sugai, who oversees the Comfort Put on vary at FamilyMart, advised the Kyodo information company.
The arrival of cooler climate means konbini counters will quickly offer piping scorching oden – a type of Japanese stew. The tamagosando will proceed to fly off the cabinets, enterprise travellers will purchase emergency underwear and unsated drinkers will attain for a jar of One Cup Ozeki sake.
Whereas most of my meals come from the cabinets of an old school grocery store, there’ll all the time be room for one more konbini perennial: a fresh-out-of the bag piece of deep-fried hen.
“It’s essential for store homeowners to show prospects into large followers of their retailers,” Yamamoto, 74, advised the Asahi Shimbun newspaper on the store’s fiftieth birthday. “Clients will solely come and store at shops that hold working onerous to provide them what they need.”
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