7-Eleven Is Bringing Its Japanese-Style Convenience Stores to the U.S.

Japan’s 7-Eleven stores take the meaning of “convenience” to a new level. The country's konbini, as they’re called, offer freshly made snacks and meals like onigiri, sushi, and fried chicken. Meanwhile, hungry 7-Eleven customers in the U.S. are limited to Slurpees, nachos, and hot dogs that have been sitting on the roller grill all day. The Japanese stores are considered so superior that many tourists go out of their way to visit them. Soon, Americans will no longer need a passport to experience this convenience store paradise.

As Food & Wine reports, North American 7-Eleven stores are adopting a more Japanese-inspired approach to running their operations. The company aims to grow its food sales from 24 percent of its total revenue to 33 percent under its new business plan. One of the first steps will be establishing new supply chains to stock locations with daily fresh food deliveries. North American 7-Elevens will also mix up their menus with more seasonal and regional specialties—a page taken directly from Japan’s playbook.

What encouraged these changes? According to the Wall Street Journal, convenience stores in the U.S. have historically relied on gas and cigarette sales to stay afloat. However, many store owners want to invest in new offerings, as cigarette and gas sales have declined for years; 7-Eleven plans to shift focus to food products because the demand for these items doesn’t fluctuate. 

Ryuichi Isaka, CEO of 7-Eleven’s Japanese parent company, Seven & i Holdings Co., shared his vision for the U.S. business in an interview with Bloomberg TV in February 2024. He emphasized the need to prioritize the quality of the stores before increasing their quantity, stating, “if we are to transfer the growth of 7-Eleven Japan to the rest of the world, we must transfer the success of 7-Eleven Japan’s food business as well [...] If we simply increase the number of stores, we will be building a tower on a very weak foundation.”

With more than 13,000 North American 7-Eleven stores in desperate need of the Japanese-inspired update, the chain has a lot of catching up to do. Currently, there’s no timeframe for when the highly-anticipated improvements will begin.

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