There are 86,000 or so 7-Elevens worldwide, with over 23,000 in Japan alone. Owned by French Canadian entrepreneur Alain Bouchard, Couche-Tard (literally “night owl” in French slang) operates Circle K, the number two global convenience store chain and 7-Eleven’s top rival. Couche-Tard has grown aggressively over the past 20 years by buying out smaller convenience chains in the US and Canada.
Who hasn’t had a Slurpee? Or, for that matter, an Icee? The two popular signature carbonated slushies are sold in convenience stores worldwide. First introduced in the early 1960s, Icee was the original slushy. The Icee Company licensed its slushy to Southland Ice Co, the Texas-based forerunner of the world’s largest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven. Slurpees and Icees are now customised for all sorts of tastes. There are zero sugar and non-fat Slurpees in America, as well as flavours like strawberry and cherry in Japan or durian and mango in Thailand.
On Aug 11, Alimentation Couche-Tard, a convenience retailer based in the outskirts of Montreal, Canada, launched a takeover of Tokyo-based Seven & i Holdings. Seven & i Holdings owns 7-Eleven compact stores open 24/7 and sells over 2,000 items, including prepared and ready-to-eat food, groceries, over-the-counter medicines, ice, milk, packaged beverages, confectionery and cigarettes. Cigarettes and lottery tickets are among the bestselling items at convenience stores worldwide.
