Japan Perfected 7-Eleven. Why Can’t the US Get It Right?
Owner Seven & i has tried for years to upgrade the chain’s reputation in the US. Now, a rival Canadian retailer is betting $47 billion that it can do a better job.
The shop is well lit; the floor, pristine. The welcoming aroma of freshly fried chicken and steamed pork buns wafts through the air. Customers pop in to snag on-the-go comfort foods such as savory onigiri and creamy egg salad on squishy white bread. It’s a scene that plays out hundreds of times a day at more than 21,000 7-Eleven locations across Japan, where the convenience stores inspire almost cultlike loyalty.
The first big milestones for 7-Eleven were all in the US: first location (1927, Texas), first Slurpee (1965), first self-serve fuel pumps (1970). But cracking the Japanese market toward the end of the 20th century elevated the chain’s global reputation beyond a speedy if uninspired purveyor of lottery tickets, gasoline and Big Gulps.