7-Eleven

Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. engages in retail, food, financial, and IT businesses in Japan, North America, and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Domestic Convenience Store operations, Overseas Convenience Store Operations, Superstore Operations, Department Store Operations, Financial Services, Specialty Stores Operations, and Others. The company's Domestic Convenience Store Operations segment operates convenience stores comprising directly managed corporate stores and franchised stores. Its Overseas Convenience Store Operations segment engages in convenience store operation and gasoline retail businesses. The company's Superstore Operations segment operates retail business that provide daily life necessities, such as food and other daily necessities. Its Department Store Operations operates department stores that provide various merchandise products. The company's Financial Services segment offers banking, leasing, and credit card services. Its Specialty Store Operations segment operates specialty retail stores. The company's others segment engages in real estate and other businesses. It operates approximately 22,500 stores in Japan and 71,800 stores internationally. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

In 1927, Southland Ice Company employee John Jefferson Green began selling ice, then he started selling eggs, milk, and bread from one of 16 ice house storefronts in Dallas, with permission from one of Southland's founding directors, Joe C. Thompson Sr. Although small grocery stores and general merchandisers were available, Thompson theorized that selling products such as bread and milk in convenience stores would reduce the need for customers to travel long distances for basic items. Thompson eventually bought the Southland Ice Company and turned it into the Southland Corporation, which oversaw several locations in the Dallas area.In 1928, a manager named Jenna Lira brought a totem pole as a souvenir from Alaska and placed it in front of her store. The pole served as a marketing tool for the company, as it attracted a great deal of attention. Soon, executives added totem poles in front of every store and eventually adopted an Alaska Native-inspired theme for their stores. Later on, the stores began operating under the name "Tote'm Stores". In the same year, the company began constructing gas stations in some of its Dallas locations as an experiment. Joe Thompson also provided a distinct characteristic to the company's stores, training the staff so that people would receive the same quality and service in every store. Southland also started to have a uniform for its ice station service boys. This became the major factor in the company's success as a retail convenience store.In 1931, the Great Depression affected the company, sending it toward bankruptcy. Nevertheless, the company continued its operations through re-organization and receivership. A Dallas banker, W. W. Overton Jr., also helped to revive the company's finances by selling the company's bonds for seven cents on the dollar. This brought the company's ownership under the control of a board of directors.In 1946, in an effort to continue the company's post-war recovery, the name of the franchise was changed to 7-Eleven to reflect the stores' new hours of operation , which were unprecedented at the time. In 1963, 7-Eleven experimented with a 24-hour schedule in Austin, Texas, after an Austin store stayed open all night to satisfy customer demand. Later on, 24-hour stores were established in Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas, as well as Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1971, Southland acquired convenience stores of the former Pak-A-Sak chain owned by Graham Allen Penniman Sr. , of Shreveport, Louisiana.With the purchase in 1963 of 126 Speedee Mart franchised convenience stores in California, the company entered the franchise business. The company signed its first area licensing agreement in 1968 with Garb-Ko, Inc. of Saginaw, Michigan, which became the first U.S. domestic area 7-Eleven licensee.

In the late 1980s, Southland Corporation was threatened by a rumored corporate takeover, prompting the Thompson family to take steps to convert the company into a private model by buying out public shareholders in a tender offer. In December 1987, John Philp Thompson Sr., the chairman and CEO of 7-Eleven, completed a $5.2 billion management buyout of the company. The buyout suffered from the effects of the 1987 stock market crash and after failing initially to raise high yield debt financing, the company was required to offer a portion of stock as an inducement to invest in the company's bonds.Various assets, such as the Chief Auto Parts chain, the ice division, and hundreds of store locations, were sold between 1987 and 1990 to relieve debt incurred during the buyout. This downsizing also resulted in numerous metropolitan areas losing 7-Eleven stores to rival convenience store operators. In October 1990, the heavily indebted Southland Corp. filed a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to transfer control of 70% of the company to Japanese affiliate Ito-Yokado.Southland exited bankruptcy in March 1991, after a cash infusion of $430 million from Ito-Yokado and Seven-Eleven Japan. These two Japanese entities now controlled 70% of the company, with the founding Thompson family retaining 5 percent. In 1999, Southland Corp. changed its name to 7-Eleven, Inc., citing the divestment of operations other than 7-Eleven. In 2005, Seven-Eleven Japan made a tender offer and 7-Eleven, Inc. became its wholly owned subsidiary. In 2007, Seven & i Holdings announced that it would be expanding its U.S. operations, with an additional 1,000 7-Eleven stores in the U.S.

For the 2010 rankings, 7-Eleven climbed to the No. 3 spot in Entrepreneur magazine's 31st Annual Franchise 500, "the first and most comprehensive ranking in the world". This was the 17th year 7-Eleven was named in the top 10.

Also in 2010, the first "green" 7-Eleven store opened in DeLand, Florida. The store features U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design elements. Also, the environmentally friendly design brings the store savings in energy costs. That same year, 7-Eleven went mobile with the launch of the Slurpee drink's iPhone and Android Application . The Slurpee drink app made it easy to find 7-Eleven stores and provides driving directions. The following year, 7-Eleven celebrated its 40,000th store opening and within two years of that milestone opened its 60,000th store.

In 2020, 7-Eleven announced it would purchase Speedway for $21 billion.In 2021, 7-Eleven rolled out a $70 million ad campaign, their largest investment in advertising in years, doubling their market spending from the previous year. The commercials, directed by Harmony Korine, are to reflect the "evolution" of the chain's store format, drawing attention to, in part, the fact that "this isn't just gas station food, there's real restaurant quality food at 7-Eleven", according to CMO Marissa Jarrantt.

To consistently serve the changing needs of customers for their convenience

Our vision is to maintain our position as 1st Choice in terms of customer preference and market share through sustainable growth, operating our business at the highest level of ethical standards.