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Thomas Frey - Senior Futurist at the DaVinci Institute
September 4th, 2006 at 4:51 am

The Coming World of Luxury Convenience

Nothing gets the creative juices flowing like combining two leading trends. So, how about upgrading convenience stores? For inspiration on how to do it, check out Harrods 102 in London, a recently opened luxury convenience store across the street from its famous Food Halls.

Besides selling groceries and wine, Harrods 102 also houses a Yo! Sushi bar, a Krispy Kreme stand, florist, pharmacist, dry cleaning service, and oxygen bar. Adding to the convenience, Harrods 102 features a concierge service that will hand-deliver goods to local residents. According to Gulf Marketing Review Magazine, a Dubai-based Harrods 102 may already be in the works. Paris, New York and Berlin are also on the to-do list.

Meanwhile, in California, Famima (owned by FamilyMart, a Japanese franchise chain that operates 6,000 convenience stores in Japan, and 6,000 in Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Vancouver, and Shanghai) is bringing Japanese style to the convenience arena. Five recently opened stores in the Los Angeles area are the first of 250 planned Famima stores in the US. Catering to busy, affluent urbanites, the stores offer premium versions of regular convenience store goods. Drip coffee has been replaced by espresso, and microwaved hotdogs by fresh sushi and bento boxes. Famima sells a variety of premium groceries and prepared foods, alongside anime comics, European notepads and other stylish goodies.

Five recently opened stores in the Los Angeles area (Pasadena, Torrance, Santa Monica, Westwood, and West Hollywood), are the first of 250 planned Famima stores in the US. What sets Famima apart? Catering to busy, affluent urbanites, the stores offer premium versions of regular convenience store goods. Drip coffee has been replaced by espresso, and microwaved hotdogs by fresh sushi and bento boxes. Famima sells a variety of premium groceries and prepared foods, alongside anime comics, European notepads and other fun novelty items.

Design is clean, polished, and uncluttered, and signs for aisle sections are somewhat cryptic icons in bright yellow and red.

Like Harrods 102, Famima aims to be a one-stop-shop for the affluent consumers they’re after. In their own words: "Famima encompasses all that is essential for the 21st century lifestyle – a neighbourhood deli, a quick service restaurant, a premium grocer, a drug store, a banker, a personal business services and stationery store, a local newsstand and internet provider, and a morning coffee and snack stop." As long as the design doesn’t grow stale, and the food stays fresh, premium convenience stores like Famima and Harrods 102 will appeal to customers in cities across the globe. Sooner or later, a global chain will do for convenience what Starbucks did for coffee!

 

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