FamilyMart has been operating in mainland China for 20 years, with nearly 3,000 stores, more than 85% of which are franchised. If viewed through the traditional lens of a “curator-style” merchandiser, FamilyMart may not appear particularly “trendy”: it does not aggressively chase frontier hit products, nor does it emphasize a strong personal aesthetic. Yet this perception misses the point. FamilyMart’s strength in assortment lies not in creating single blockbuster items, but in stability, structure, and the ability to make high-frequency decisions day after day.

Operating under the realities of high-frequency consumption, low average transaction value, and strong franchise constraints, FamilyMart is not simply selecting products. Through assortment, it builds a daily life system that consumers can trust and rely on—from breakfast to late-night meals, from efficiency to emotional comfort.

Starting from the concept of “a day in life,” this session explores how FamilyMart uses time-slot segmentation, scenario-based assortment, and membership data to reverse-engineer its product structure, continuously optimizing the consumer experience at scale. It ultimately addresses a core question: when 85% of stores are franchised, for whom—and for which moment, and which life state—should the merchandiser truly be making decisions?