7-Eleven in Japan is thought for high-quality recent meals, whereas its American counterpart is extra sometimes related to fuel stations, Slurpees, scorching canines and pizza. However later this yr, the world’s largest comfort retailer chain, with greater than 13,000 areas in North America and over 83,000 worldwide, plans to introduce Japanese-inspired menu choices within the U.S.
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7-Eleven, which ranked #25 within the 2024 Franchise 500 Rating, has been owned by Japan’s Seven & I Holdings since 2005. The franchise’s Japanese 7-Eleven shops excel with data-driven operations, providing recent meals tailor-made to native tastes. This differs from U.S. shops, which have traditionally made most of their cash on fuel and cigarette gross sales — revenues which might be declining, per the Wall Road Journal.
Now, the main target is shifting extra in direction of meals: The corporate’s aim is to extend its meals gross sales from 24% to one-third of complete gross sales, in response to the WSJ.
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To take action, 7-Eleven is upgrading its U.S. commissaries — 17 “hub” sort areas across the nation that make meals for all its U.S. shops — and partnering with Japanese suppliers to supply a broader vary of recent meals choices. Though you may nonetheless have the ability to get a Large Gulp at your native 7-Eleven, you may additionally have the ability to decide up some recent sushi — or a new sort of snack.
“Our workforce attracts inspiration from all over the world to introduce new objects like Mangonada donuts with Tajin, barbecue pork sliders, hen curry bowls and all the pieces breakfast sandwiches,” a model spokesperson informed At the moment.
The corporate additionally plans to leverage information and focused promoting to carry the Japanese comfort shops’ recent, high-quality vibe to the American market.
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7-Eleven will not be the primary giant U.S.-founded company to inject Japanese thought into its operations. The philosophy of kaizen, which means “steady enchancment,” combines the Japanese phrases “kai” (change) and “zen” (good) and was popularized within the West by Masaaki Imai’s 1986 e book Kaizen: The Key to Japan’s Aggressive Success. Dealer Joe’s started training kaizen in 2007, when then-CEO John Bane, who retired final yr after 22 years working the specialty grocer, adopted it to drive the corporate’s growth.
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