FamilyMart taps Lady Gaga in Japan’s battle for workers

FamilyMart has recruited Lady Gaga for an unusual assignment: Helping the Japanese convenience store chain find more workers as the country’s labor shortage intensifies.

In a new 30-second advertisement, the pop superstar wears a custom FamilyMart uniform, serves the chain’s signature Famichiki fried chicken, mops the floor and restocks shelves before asking viewers in Japanese: “Why not work at FamilyMart?”

The campaign marks a shift from the product- and discount-focused advertising typically associated with Japan’s convenience stores. FamilyMart is currently advertising 10,481 part-time positions across 16,455 stores in Japan.

Convenience store operators rely heavily on part-time employees to maintain long operating hours, but Japan’s shrinking workforce has made recruitment increasingly difficult. Workers have also gained greater bargaining power as employers compete for fewer available staff.

FamilyMart has been trying to make its workplaces more attractive. The company recently redesigned its employee uniform for the first time in a decade, unveiling a more casual look at a Tokyo fashion event.

The industry has also increasingly turned to foreign workers and technology to ease staffing pressures.

FamilyMart’s recruitment push comes as the chain faces slower sales growth and weaker customer traffic, potentially limiting franchisees’ ability to raise wages.

The company generated about ¥3.3 trillion ($21 billion) in annual revenue and is the second-largest of Japan’s three major convenience store groups.

Rival 7-Eleven has separately overhauled its franchise agreements, reducing royalties paid by franchisees to headquarters and giving store operators greater room to increase part-time wages.

FamilyMart said it has no similar overhaul planned and declined to disclose how much it spent on the Lady Gaga campaign.

The singer remains highly popular in Japan, where fans sometimes refer to her as “Gaga-sama.” She sold out six Japanese dates on her Mayhem Ball tour.