7-Eleven Is Reinventing Its $17B Food Business to Be More Japanese | WSJ The Economics Of
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Published 2024-07-01
WSJ explores how 7-Eleven is shifting its business strategy to focus more on food as cigarette and gas sales have begun to slow.
Chapters:
0:00 Japanese inspiration to American stores
1:01 7-Eleven’s origins
3:35 Prepared food
5:38 Innovation plans
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All Comments (21)
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Why cheap toilet paper sets off alarm bells among some investors: on.wsj.com/3XKvezA
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Finally! 😄 Anyone who's been to a 7-Eleven in Asia has been thinking this for decades. Hopefully, they can pull it off! 🤞
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Japan 7-11 is head and shoulders above US 7-11. No comparison. If they can bring a little bit of that magic to US 7-11, I think business would boom.
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When I was in Japan, I was shocked to see 7-Eleven was a clean and popular store rather than gross rat's nest.
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One of the biggest differences is in Japan, some 7-Eleven stores offer a separate seating area to enjoy your food. They even offer the hot water for ramen/soups, or tea. This is typically upstairs or in a small separated area from the store.
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The best part about Japanese convenience stores can't be imported to America: walkability. When i was visiting Japan i loved being able to walk downstairs, cross a street, and suddenly have access to fresh, quality food if i didn't want to cook. If I walk for 20 min in America I'm still in the same neighborhood of houses. And 7/11 can't put a walkable store in my neighborhood because of zoning laws prohibiting non-residential use.
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The issue is true "convenience stores" don't exist in the US. You have to drive to 7/11, and if you do that, you might as well drive to the grocery store. In Asia, it's actually a convenience since you can just walk 5 min rather than drive/take the train.
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7-11 in Japan has been a dream for America tbh. A small grocer of food and snacks vs junk, hotdogs, lottery tickets, and liquor.
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Hearing corpos happily talking about targeting ads at the point of purchase and how wonderful that is for their advertisers is wild
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In Asia it's not just about excitement, it's about Convenience. Imagine having a ready-prep meal just 10 meters away from your house. Reasonable price, walking distance, fast.
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People will get Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner at 7-11 in Japan and have a smile on their face because the food at those locations are not only good, but affordable too.
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i was in Taiwan once, and every day for breakfast I would have 3 tea eggs and a sweet potato from 7-11. They were hard boiled eggs in tea. the eggs were 50 cents each, and the potato was about a dollar. Healthy breakfast under $3! why cant we do that here?
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I've actually wanted this for YEARS. The big problem though is that any food sold in an American 7 Eleven is likely going to be of lower quality than that found in Japan, because someone in the chain will decide to save a dollar rather than focus on service.
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This is by far the best US corporate news I’ve heard all year. There is nothing appetizing in a US 7/11. I need that Kombini magic here!!
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the difference is the food in the US stores is actually garbage, both taste wise and health wise, while the food in the japanese stores tastes good/fresh and some of it is even healthy for you.
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The excitement is already here. Japanese food options, convenient urban locations, and a revamp awareness campaign is all they need.
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As someone who has spent time in Japan, I don’t believe America can ever replicate what Japan has accomplished with convenience stores. It comes down to culture and pursuit of quality. The US is turn and burn. Japan takes pride in everything they do.
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One major leg up that Asian 7-11s have is they are usually located in extremely walkable areas, which exposes them to a lot of random walk-in impulse customers. Whereas most people in the US would need to make the conscious decision to drive to a location, or plan to make a stop in their existing car journey.
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711 Japan replacing 711 US would be scary news for Starbucks and McDonald's 100%. In Japan, McD has to step up its game against Family Mart and 711.
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I think DancingBacons is probably partly to thank for his coverage of Asian 7/11 stores; showing the world just how incredible a 7/11 can be. Those places are insane.
