Famima!!

Famima!! was a chain of small upscale convenience stores owned by FamilyMart stores of Japan. Founded on September 17, 2004, the stores brought the Japanese model of premium convenience stores targeting the middle- and upper-level income group of 21 – 41 years of age to the United States. Famima stores feature upscale design and premium foods, packaging deli-style "lunch boxes" (sandwiches, panini, sushi), international and American goods popular in the United States.

FamilyMart opened and closed a number of Famima stores in Southern California between 2005 and 2013.^[1] The company originally had plans for 30 test stores with 220 additional stores by 2009. However, the company's contraction came as quickly as its expansion and Famima closed many of the original test sites. There were nine active locations as of July 2010, according to the company's website.

In 2015, FamilyMart liquidated Famima Corp. USA and announced that it would be withdrawing from the United States, permanently closing all remaining Famima stores in Southern California by the end of October 2015, in order to concentrate its resources on its network of stores in Asia.^[1][2]

Locations

All locations are in the Greater Los Angeles area.

Current locations:

• Union Station in downtown Los Angeles
• Downtown Los Angeles
  • Two California Plaza
  • City National Plaza
  • 700 Wilshire
  • Roosevelt (7th Street at Flower Street)
  • Pacific Center (6th Street at Olive Street, near Pershing Square)
  • Broadway Arcade Building

Former locations:

• Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica (closed as of September 22, 2015)
• Hollywood Plaza on Hollywood Blvd. (near Hollywood and Highland) (closed as of March 2011)
• Culver Center in Culver City (Venice Boulevard at Overland Ave) (closed as of October 2011)
• Arcadia - Santa Anita Ave and Live Oak Ave (closed as of October 2009)
• Fountain Valley - Bushard St. and Warner Ave (closed as of December 6, 2009)
• Glendale (closed - date unknown)
• 8th & Figueroa (closed - date unknown)
• Lakewood - Downey and South Street (closed)
• Long Beach
  • 2nd Street in Belmont Shore (closed as of March 1, 2008)
  • Los Coyotes Diagonal (closed as of March 1, 2008)
• Pasadena
  • Playhouse District - Colorado Boulevard (closed as of November 30, 2009)
  • Old Pasadena - Raymond Avenue and Union Street (closed as of January 2010)
• Torrance (closed as of May 30, 2008)
• West Hollywood (closed as of February 1, 2009)
• Santa Anita Mall in Arcadia (closed as of May 2013)

References

1. "Famima Closing Its Doors, Exiting U.S.". CSP Daily News. 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
2. ファミマ、米国から撤退　８店舗を閉鎖 ("Famima, closing eight stores, withdrawing from the United States"). Nikkei.com. 2015-08-27.

External links

• Official website
• Andrea Gardner, More than convenient, it's Famima!!, Marketplace (radio program), May 29, 2006
• Jonathan Gold, All in the Famima!! -- A new convenience-store empire is among us, LA Weekly, September 20, 2006