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| The ¥1,998 watch co-developed by FamilyMart and Citizen Watch comes in black and white versions, with FamilyMart colours used for details including the second hand and strap holes. |
FamilyMart has re-released its Citizen-made Convenience Wear wristwatch after the first run nearly sold out in about 10 days. Here’s what shoppers need to know.
FamilyMart has brought back a wristwatch that is unusual for a convenience store chain—and not just because of the price. The ¥1,998 (tax included) model, co-developed with Citizen Watch, returned to stores after the first release almost sold out in around 10 days. Originally launched on April 17 as the first wristwatch in FamilyMart’s Convenience Wear range, it comes with either a white or black dial and incorporates FamilyMart’s blue and green branding in details including the second hand and strap holes. FamilyMart lists 10-bar water resistance and says the watch can be worn while swimming. It is available in one size and costs ¥1,817 before tax, or ¥1,998 including tax.
The demand was strong enough to prompt a second release. The watch was first announced in a March 26 news release and launched on April 17. According to FamilyMart, the first run was almost gone roughly 10 days after its April debut. The company then received requests for another release, and by May ASCII.jp’s English edition reported that FamilyMart had announced plans for an autumn return. The chain later confirmed the details in its official September 18 announcement, which said the second release would begin that day. FamilyMart also said its wider autumn/winter Convenience Wear collection would roll out sequentially across approximately 16,500 stores nationwide, while the watch would be sold at FamilyMart stores across Japan.
For the watch itself, FamilyMart also offered a separate online lottery. Applications were accepted from September 18 until September 28, with each applicant limited to either one white or one black watch. Successful applicants are scheduled to collect their watches between October 9 and October 22.
Availability remains uneven
Recent individual buyer reports suggest that finding the watch can depend heavily on location. In an October 2 discussion on r/JapaneseWatches, one visitor said they checked numerous FamilyMart stores during a trip two weeks earlier without finding one. Another reported finding stock at the Azabudai Hills flagship in Tokyo after checking several other stores, while a third said they found one on October 2. A separate October 2 post on r/CoffeeWatch offers a useful counterpoint: its author reported buying one from a neighbourhood FamilyMart in Osaka. These accounts are anecdotal and cannot establish overall stock levels, but they show that individual buyers are still looking for—and sometimes finding—the watch after the September re-release.
FamilyMart has not published production numbers or identified the movement in its official specifications. As a result, the scale of demand cannot be quantified beyond the company’s statement that the original release was almost sold out after around 10 days. The re-released watch remains officially priced at ¥1,998 including tax in both white and black.
For anyone hoping to pick one up, the safest takeaway is that this is not a normal convenience-store impulse buy—at least not yet. It is a limited-feeling, Citizen-made wristwatch with FamilyMart branding, and stock appears to vary from one neighbourhood to the next. If you spot one, it may be worth grabbing.