TOKYO - FamilyMart has unveiled a new retail strategy dubbed the "Apollo Plan," aiming to expand its sales space by attaching small, three-tsubo (about 10 square meters) white containers to existing stores. At a location in Kanagawa Prefecture, curious customers noticed the unfamiliar structure next to the usual storefront, wondering aloud what it might contain.
Rather than launching into space, as the name might whimsically suggest, the initiative focuses on down-to-earth needs: boosting sales of high-demand items like rice balls and clothing. According to Tetsuya Miura, head of the company’s development promotion department, "The Apollo Plan is our approach to floor space expansion. Construction costs are reduced by about 30%, so we expect to see significant benefits from that as well."
With rising material costs and labor shortages making it harder to open entirely new stores, FamilyMart is opting for a more cost-effective solution. By increasing the variety of products through this additional container space, the company expects a 10% rise in sales for those expanded items.
The company aims to roll out the Apollo Plan to as many as 1,000 stores nationwide by the end of February next year.
Source: TBS
