FamilyMart employees across Japan are about to get a noticeably different look.
For the first time in 10 years, the convenience-store chain is replacing its familiar jacket-style staff uniform with a T-shirt design. The change will begin on September 1, 2026, and is scheduled for approximately 16,500 FamilyMart stores nationwide.
But the uniform itself is only part of the story.
From a jacket to a T-shirt
FamilyMart says the new uniform is based on the Outer T-shirt from its Convenience Wear clothing line.
The company says staff had asked for uniforms that were easier to move in and allowed for more casual styling. The new version uses 100% cotton, a thicker fabric designed to be less see-through, and antibacterial and deodorizing treatment. Sizes will range from XS to 11L, with 14 sizes in total.
FamilyMart describes the move to a T-shirt-style uniform as a first for Japan’s convenience-store industry.
The outgoing jacket-style FamilyMart staff uniform. Photo: FamilyMart.
Front and back of the new short-sleeve uniform, including the name-tag pocket and FamilyMart color bands. Official images: FamilyMart.
What is “Famima Coordinate”?
Alongside the new uniform, FamilyMart is introducing a new appearance standard called “Famima Coordinate” — ファミマコーデ.
Rather than requiring every employee to present the uniform in exactly the same way, the guidelines expand the choices available for things such as hair color and clothing combinations. Layering garments underneath the new T-shirt is also part of the styling approach.
That does not mean there are no rules. FamilyMart says cleanliness, hygiene, workplace safety and appropriate customer service remain the foundation of the new standard.
The company says the goal is to give employees more room to express their individual style while still maintaining the standards expected in a convenience store.
Why FamilyMart is changing the way staff work
The timing is significant.
FamilyMart points to labor shortages caused by Japan’s declining population, as well as the growth of more flexible forms of employment including short-term work, second jobs and other lifestyle-based working arrangements.
The company says convenience stores are facing structural changes in the labor market, including workers seeking shorter hours and more flexible ways of working. Its wider goal is to become what it describes as the convenience store people most want to work for.
So while a new T-shirt may look like a relatively small change, it sits inside a much broader effort to rethink recruitment, retention and the experience of working inside a Japanese convenience store.
FamilyMart even put the new look on a runway
The company turned the uniform launch into a fashion event at Fami-FEST 2026.
Different versions of the new “Famima Coordinate” styling were presented on a runway, showing how the T-shirt could be combined with different layers and individual looks. The event helped position the uniform less as a single rigid outfit and more as a base that employees can adapt within FamilyMart’s new guidelines.
It is an unusually fashion-forward presentation for something as everyday as a convenience-store uniform — but that may be exactly the point.
The new T-shirt layered over a white high-neck top during the Fami-FEST 2026 presentation. Photo: FamilyMart.
When will you see the new FamilyMart uniform?
The nationwide rollout begins September 1, 2026.
FamilyMart says the new uniforms and Famima Coordinate standards will be introduced at approximately 16,500 stores across Japan.
For customers, it will be a visible change at one of Japan’s most familiar convenience-store chains.
For FamilyMart, it is also part of a much bigger question: what should working at a Japanese convenience store look — and feel — like in 2026?