Famima Corp., the U.S. arm of Japan’s FamilyMart Co., plans to open several of its high-end convenience stores in Orange County by early next year.
The beaches and Costa Mesa are target areas, said Hidenari Sato, chief operating officer for Torrance-based Famima. OC’s demographics are the draw, he said.
Raymond Saylor, vice president of Famima, is scouting real estate for the company. He lives in OC, Sato said.
Famima has three stores in Los Angeles County, including one opening in Santa Monica this week. It plans to open 200 to 250 stores in the U.S. by 2009.
There are 12,000 FamilyMarts in Asia, making it one of the largest Asian convenience chains.
The stores are similar to Trader Joe’s in product selection but are smaller, Sato said. The stores are about 2,500 to 3,000 square feet and have wood floors and stainless steel fixtures, he said.
The stores are targeting mainstream, rather than just Japanese, shoppers, he said.
Cigarettes, beer and other convenience store staples are sold, along with premium groceries such as sushi, panini and dim sum.
