Circle K Sunkus

Circle K Sunkus Co., Ltd
	Japanese version Circle K Sunkus logo as shown atop a building
Native name	株式会社サークルKサンクス
Romanized name	Kabushiki gaisha Sākuru Kei Sankusu
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail (Convenience stores)
Founded	Tokyo, Japan (2004)
Defunct	September 1, 2016
Fate	The FamilyMart Co., Ltd was merged with UNY Co., Ltd to create Family Mart UNY Holdings Co., Ltd, which means all Circle K and Sunkus' stores were operated as FamilyMart.
Successor	FamilyMart
Headquarters	20-1 Shiohama 2, Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan
Key people	Motohiko Nakamura, President
Revenue	-
Number of employees	1,759 (2010)
Parent	UNY Co., Ltd.
Website	Circle K Sunkus' official website - at the Wayback Machine (archived 2016-01-04)

Circle K Sunkus (サークルKサンクス, Sākuru K Sankusu, stylized as CircleKSunkus) was a chain of company-operated and franchised convenience stores in Japan. The company is a division of UNY Co., Ltd., which licensed the Circle K name from Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian convenience store company that owns the Circle K brand.

At the typical Japanese convenience store, goods such as magazines, manga, soft drinks, contraceptives, onigiri, and bento are available.

As of September 1, 2016, due to Circle K Sunkus’ acquisition and absorption by FamilyMart, all Circle K Sunkus stores have been rebranded as FamilyMart stores as a result of the FamilyMart Co. and Uny Group Holdings Co. merger.^[1]

History

The first Circle K store in Japan opened on March 15, 1980, in Tenpaku-ku, Nagoya.

The first Sunkus store opened in Aoba-ku, Sendai, on July 23, 1980. The Sunkus chain expanded to Tokyo in 1981, Hokkaido in 1982, Osaka in 1989 and Nagoya in 1992.

Sunkus and Circle K Japan formed an equity and business alliance in October 1998.

The franchiser, Sunkus & Associates Inc., officially merged with Circle K Japan Co., Ltd., as of the September 1, 2004, fiscal year and was known officially as Circle K Sunkus Co., Ltd (株式会社サークルKサンクス). The two brands remained separate — convenience stores owned by the company had either a Sunkus sign or a Circle K sign.^{[citation needed]}