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As 7-Eleven's Japan owner weighs a bid, U.S. fans crave 'conbini' food

7 & & i Holdings turned the modest 7Eleven store into a popular food destination in Japan by providing fresh sandwiches, rice balls and rows of boxed lunches, changing how countless people consume.

5 decades after it opened the very first shop in its home market, the company is on an objective to bring some of its a lot of popular products to the U.S. - a technique enthusiasts do not wish to see threatened by a takeover bid from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard.

Couche-Tard, owner of Circle-K corner store, has sounded out Seven & & i- which has a market value of $36 billion- about a possible acquisition, the companies stated this week. A. prospective offer value hasn't been revealed and there's no. guarantee a deal will take place.

Experts and industry experts think Couche-Tard is. thinking about synergies in The United States and Canada, where Seven & & i has . more than 15,000 convenience stores and filling station, albeit far. less profitable than the company's Japanese stores or conbini. which number some 21,000.

The food quality is much higher, and more special at. Japanese 7-Eleven stores than in the U.S., stated New York-based. food influencer Jeremy Jacobowitz, who has more than 500,000. fans on Instagram.

It makes me worried that they will mess with what I deem. excellence, he stated about a possible buyout. Jacobowitz said he. doesn't receive monetary consideration from Seven & & i. At its Japanese conbini, Seven & & i boasts a 27% operating. revenue margin, according to LSEG information. But at its overseas. corner store, the figure is simply 3.5%.

Seeing fresh food as crucial to repairing low U.S. success,. 7 & & i said this year it is presenting more than 200 food. products in its U.S. shops - some of them distinctly Japanese - a. technique that has actually been enthusiastically gotten by fans on. social media and food-related sites.

Much of that plan depends upon plants run by Japanese firm. Warabeya Nichiyo Holdings, in which a Seven & & i unit is. the leading shareholder.

In Texas, it will produce onigiri rice balls and Lone. Star Sliders. In Virginia, it will roll out Japanese-style. sandwiches that utilize thin and slightly sweet white bread too. as chicken curry rice bowls.

FOOD-DRIVEN GROWTH

Conbini have become a vital part of everyday life in. Japan, where people pay bills, send out plans and get show. tickets. However it is the food that has actually been the primary motorist of. development.

Shops get multiple daily shipments of sandwiches,. onigiris, and pre-cooked meals focused on customers too busy to. cook. They likewise stock fresh fruit, consisting of bananas and. private packets of peeled and sliced apple, as well as bread. and pastries.

One recent development at 7-Eleven in Japan: the intro. of fresher-tasting bread in shops by utilizing a new defrosting. procedure on bread frozen at the factory.

What 7 & & i did to make corner store work was. logistics, stated Michael Causton, the co-founder of retail. research study company JapanConsuming.

For the last 24 years, 7 & & i has been the. highest-selling merchant in Japan, he said, although it faces. stiff competition from corner store rivals such as Lawson. and FamilyMart.

By contrast, foreign sellers have had a poor performance history. in making inroads in Japan, one of the world's hardest customer. markets and analysts question what Couche-Tard can give the. table in Seven & & i's home market.

The United States is the world's most significant market which's. where the synergies will be the easiest to achieve, stated Shun. Tanaka, a senior analyst at SBI Securities. However I don't think. Couche-Tard knows anything about running Japanese convenience. stores.

TEXAS TO TOKYO

Formerly called Ito-Yokado, Seven & & i was established by. Masatoshi Ito, who rapidly broadened it in the postwar period. In. 1973 it certified the 7-Eleven franchise from Dallas-based. Southland Corp and a year later opened the first 7-Eleven in. Tokyo.

When Southland declared bankruptcy, the Japanese business took it. over in 1991 and now manages more than 80,000 7-Eleven shops. worldwide.

Seven & & i's Japanese services include supermarkets,. big-box warehouse stores and a bank. It also runs Denny's. restaurants and Tower Records.

It has actually been targeted by activist shareholders, most just recently. ValueAct Capital, for what they say is unneeded bloat.

Founder Ito was viewed as long against hiving off units.

Following his death last year at age 98, Seven & & i exited. its apparel organization and closed dozens of Ito-Yokado outlets,. making plans to spin off the rest.

Couche-Tard could look to allow the Japanese service to. operate individually, said James Halse, co-founder of Senjin. Capital, a Sydney-based, Japan-focused fund.

Most likely the primary reason they want 7 & & i is for the. direct exposure of the U.S. gas station service, he said.

(source: Reuters)