Japan's largest convenience store chain, Seven-Eleven, will begin selling popular fashion brand items, including those from Nico and and Lory's Farm. This move expands its product range, traditionally focused on lunch boxes, beverages, and daily necessities, to include clothing, aiming to attract younger and female customers. As Seven-Eleven seeks to catch up with FamilyMart, which has been leading in clothing sales, competition in the convenience store fashion sector is expected to intensify.
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on September 8, Seven-Eleven Japan announced a partnership with Andsuti HD, the third-largest clothing company in Japan, to collaborate on clothing sales. They will jointly develop exclusive products for Seven-Eleven from popular brands like Nico and and Lory's Farm.
Starting on the 25th, Seven-Eleven will launch its first products at approximately 20,000 stores nationwide. The initial offering will include 17 items such as handkerchiefs, socks, and hair ties, with plans to expand the range to include T-shirts, sweatshirts, and scarves as the seasons change. Nico and T-shirts will be priced at 1,989 yen (about $17), while Lory's Farm socks will cost 880 yen.
In the fall, Seven-Eleven will also introduce sweatshirts featuring the popular Sanrio character Hello Kitty. Considering the limited space in convenience stores for fitting rooms or dedicated clothing displays, the packaging will be designed to resemble a fashion magazine's styling page, making it easier for customers to envision how the items would look when worn.
Seven-Eleven's focus on clothing sales is aimed at attracting its younger customer base, which has been relatively weak. Over 40% of Seven-Eleven's customers are over 50, while those under 20 account for only about 17%. Brands like Nico and and Lory's Farm are particularly popular among customers in their 20s and 30s, especially women.
The primary goal for Seven-Eleven is to encourage 'purposeful purchases' where customers specifically visit the store to buy popular clothing. Additionally, they plan to display cosmetics alongside clothing to promote 'impulse purchases' from customers visiting the store. The average daily sales per Seven-Eleven store are about 700,000 yen, which is approximately 100,000 yen higher than competitors Lawson and FamilyMart, although the gap has been narrowing recently.
Through this collaboration, Seven-Eleven aims to double its clothing sales compared to 2025. Currently, clothing sales are estimated to account for only a few percent of the average daily sales per store. In previous test sales at select stores, clothing sales more than doubled compared to the previous year, with about 70% of buyers being women. Based on these test sales results, Seven-Eleven plans to develop clothing as a new growth driver for revenue.
FamilyMart currently leads in clothing sales, having developed its own brand 'Convenience Wear' with renowned designer Hiroshi Ochiai. They have even opened small specialty clothing stores, with clothing sales projected to reach 20 billion yen in 2025, with a long-term goal of expanding this to 100 billion yen.
Instead of developing a new private brand, Seven-Eleven has opted to partner with established brands like Nico and to leverage their design appeal across its nationwide convenience store network, aiming to differentiate itself from FamilyMart.
Minoru Fukuda, a senior partner at the U.S. consulting firm A.T. Kearney, noted that Japan's clothing market is valued at approximately 8 trillion yen, indicating significant opportunities for new entrants. He also pointed out that clothing typically has relatively high margins among consumer goods. However, Seven-Eleven will face competition not only from established clothing companies like Fast Retailing, which operates Uniqlo, and Shimamura, but also from online fashion retailers like SHEIN, which are gaining popularity among younger consumers.
There are also variables to consider. Andsuti previously launched a joint clothing brand called 'Pound Good' with Ito-Yokado in 2024, targeting family demographics, but failed to meet customer demand, resulting in disappointing sales. Subsequently, Ito-Yokado shifted its management focus to food operations under a U.S.-based fund, leading to a suspension of product supply after about two years. Whether Seven-Eleven can avoid a similar fate and consistently offer products that resonate with its convenience store customer base will be crucial for the expansion of its clothing business.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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