Some facts about 7ELEVEn

Temperature – 2

This chain needs little introduction for many. It was founded in 1927 in Dallas originally as an ice cream store. In 1946, a Japanese supermarket acquired a 70 percent stake in the company, and in 1991, it became a subsidiary of 7-Eleven. The rest, as they say, is history. Japanese convenience stores are often one of the first things people think of when the country is mentioned. I have written a few blogs on this topic, but today I wanted to do something a little different: list some interesting facts about the company in Japan.

·        It is a worldwide the company runs 84,500 stores in 19 countries.

·        Japan has the most stores, 30 percent of all stores are in Japan. There are stores in all 47 prefectures. Stores are open 24 hours a day all 365 days of the year!

·        The chain was one of the first to operate 24 hours a day, with Japan’s work culture this made the chain very popular. People finishing late could get food anytime from the stores.

·        The first store opened in Toyosu in 1974, Tokyo and the first item sold was a pair of sunglasses.

·        The chain is the largest in Japan by far outnumbering other convenience store chains. The company also owns its own bank branch named I-Holdings.

·        You can pay with an IC card and the ATMs accept foreign cards making it popular with tourists. There is a small charge for using the machines, but it is a welcome relief to tourists who are caught short.

·        The store offers a variety of services from paying bills, parcel delivery services, copy and print services, microwaves and smoothie machines, IC card top ups, buying a ticket to Disneyland and a place to recycle. the last point may seem strange but to a tourist in a country where bins are not readily available this will become your saviour.

·        The store has its own brand of food which cater for differing price points, at the top of the range is the premium gold range. This range often sees culinary collaborations. Like other stores the chain has seasonal items which change with the seasons or holidays. The company believes that a constantly changing range of goods raises expectations, standards and the enjoyment of its customers.

·        There is an English website containing information on all products available in store.

·        The company’s goal is to bring peace of mind to its customers and prides itself in community building projects. The stores carry emergency items for natural disasters like typhoon, ensuring communities have access to important items in times of need.

·        The company works with local governments to raise public awareness of disaster preparedness.

·        The stores have solar panels and LED lighting. Many of its stores follow the same basic layout creating a sense of familiarity with customers.

·        Daily sales average 656,000 yen. The company made 5,345,243 million yen in the financial year ending February 2024.

·        The company operates an agile approach they have a meticulous delivery system meaning stores receive deliveries when they need them for the freshest produce. It also means less spare produce is kept out the back and less waste.

·        In 2020 the company reportedly had 290 products in store that made over 1 million yen each in sales.

·         The company invests in its promise to bring the freshest products to the consumer. The company had a lot of success with the launch of its onigiri in 1978, up till this point onigiri was considered a homemade item. But with persistence the rice balls started to become popular and overcame this stigma. They can be found in many flavours across stores in Japan today.

·        The chain also offers o-den * Simmered foods* these are usually eaten in the colder months. Because it offers its own variations customers can enjoy a traditional dish on the move. These dishes usually require time and a lot of ingredients, so they are not enjoyed easily in the home.

·        And lastly because it was a small running gag on the blog, the chain is the only one who kept stock of Pokémon cards during the apocalypse that has sadly now turned into a dessert with no cards being sold. But it was the store that allowed me to build most of my Terastral deck when other chains stopped carrying altogether.

I hope you have enjoyed learning a little about the (The King) of convenience stores in Japan and I am sure you do not need me to tell you to check one out if you take a trip to the country of convenience. But the chain is certainly at the top of a lot of reasons and is still the chain I visit the most out. This was a fun blog to research and the first one which took me multiple days to put together, I hope you enjoyed and learned at least one new fact.