Kyoto Animation’s official website released a notice on March 14, 2022, saying that the studio’s physical merchandise shop, “KyoAni & Do Shop,” in Uji, Kyoto has been shut down permanently.

The studio has decided to reconstruct the KyoAni store space, which is a part of Kyoto Animation’s studio 5, into an office to accommodate additional staff.

“It was a tough decision for us to close the space where many fans and friends had given us sincere, warm thoughts and sympathy. We now have more staffs joined, shared with the same vision. Therefore, we determined to reconstruct the store space into a workplace to provide more sufficient work and meet the fans’ requests. We truly appreciate your kind understanding,” Kyoto Animation wrote in their notice.

The online merchandise store, “Kyoani Shop! Online’, will however remain open.

The KyoAni & Do Shop opened in June 2017 along with Studio 5 and operated for a period of two years before it was shut down temporarily due to the arson incident that took place in July 2019.

The closure extended indefinitely in April 2020, as restrictions due to the spread of COVID-19 set in. The studio had also halted their production work due to the spread of the virus.

Kyoto Animation demolished their Studio 1 office in Fushimi, Kyoto after the arson attack. The employees were reallocated to other locations, namely Studio 5 and Studio 2, both of which are located in Uji, Kyoto.

The studio lost 36 employees in the arson and an additional 34 staff were injured. The studio’s workforce had decreased from 176 to 137 even as majority of the surviving victims returned to work at other offices of KyoAni.

In November 2019, the studio decided to accept trainees again as part of their training program. Upon graduating from the program, outstanding trainees will be recruited by the studio after being examined further.

Source: Kyoto Animation official website