Interesting. 7-11 is one of the example's in Rumelt's book on strategies[1]. In the chapter on 'pivot points' (by his definition, areas where effort yields significant reward) he outlines that 7-11 focuses on different things in Japan vs China. In Japan, they believe that the customer is easily bored and requires their stores to stock many choices, and carefully track which are rising and falling in popularity in each area, to avoid them seeking out novelty at competing stores. In China, they focus on attracting customers by having Japanese-style "spotless interiors and white-gloved service", a much more pleasant experience that traditionally found in stores in China.
I was wondering what this said about the US customer. But it sounds like the US operation was just not as well run and needs to catch up.
Not sure of the structure in Japan and China, but US 7-11s are franchised and thus the individual owners have a huge effect on the base level of service and upkeep. There are many stereotypes that it wouldn’t be appropriate to get into here, but the quality of individual stores can vary a lot.
They are also known as a place to buy huge sodas, tobacco, and energy drinks, but many other convenience stores also provide those.
They are franchised here as well, although the holding company owns multiple stores. The overall quality, including the operating hours to the chagrin of the franchisees, is ruthlessly maintained through their contracts and lawsuits though.
The US contracts might be more relaxed or the holding company might not have enough control due to the sheer size of the US market. In Japan, most stores get deliveries more than twice a day, have inspectors show up unannounced, need to make daily reports in some cases, etc. Not much room for leeway.
> In China, they focus on attracting customers by having Japanese-style "spotless interiors and white-gloved service", a much more pleasant experience that traditionally found in stores in China
In Asia, 7-11, Circle K, GS25, etc are all "upscale"ish outside of JP/SK/TW.
They can't compete at the price point that a local bodega or street vendor in Dongguan, Diliman, or Da Lat so they segment themselves as slightly more upscale. Sort of like how Target differentiates itself from Walgreens and CVS.
The whole point is that because they're Japanese/Korean/Taiwanese they are much more "luxury" than a local brand.
I was wondering what this said about the US customer. But it sounds like the US operation was just not as well run and needs to catch up.
[1] Good strategy, Bad Strategy, 2012