7-Eleven Inc.

7-Eleven is among the world’s largest and most widely recognized and iconic retailers, both inside and outside the c-store channel. The company’s iconic Slurpees, Big Gulp soft drinks and fresh-made coffees have helped 7-Eleven grow throughout North America and in several countries overseas.

The company’s deal to purchase more than 1,000 stores from Dallas-based Sunoco closed in January 2018, and the company has continued to grow since.

In terms of in-store assortment, 7-Eleven convenience items range from cigarettes and magazines to sweet and salty snacks and beer and wine. 7-Eleven distinguishes itself from its competition with its many proprietary and private-label items. On the foodservice front, the chain rolled out its fresh initiative, adding more fresh food items across the chain. Technology, meanwhile, plays a major role in the brand’s evolution, including its 7Rewards loyalty app, a new Bill Pay app, third-party delivery and even a promotion involving drone delivery.

For management purposes, corporate and franchised North American stores are organized into geographical zones. 7-Eleven Hawaii also is a franchised area, which reports to Seven-Eleven Japan, not the U.S. franchise group in Irving, Texas. 7-Eleven Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based Seven & i Holdings Co., which is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Source: Convenience Digital Resource Library, Technomic. For benchmarking purposes, store counts are year-end 2018.