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International Business Report on

7-ELEVEN CONVENIENCE STORE

UNIVERSITY OF PUNJAB JHELUM CAMPUS

Submitted to :

Sir Sohail Younas

Submitted by :

Aqsa ishaq (BBA F19 M48)

Maha Akhtar (BBA F19 M57)

Saira Batool (BBA F19 M80)

Amna Ghous (BBA F19 M84)

BBA 7 TH Morning (B)

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Table Of Contents

1. Introduction 4

2. History 5

3. Types of product and services 7

3.1 Products 7

3.1.1 Food items 7

3.1.2 Beverages 8

3.1.3 Non food 8

3.2 Services 8

4 SWOT Analysis of 7-eleven 10

4.1 Strength 10

4.1.1 Convenient locations 10

4.1.2 Overall brand equity 10

4.1.3 Franchised model 10

4.1.4 Diversity of income 10

4.2 Weakness 10

4.2.1 High rental cost 10

4.2.2 High staff cost 10

4.2.3 Franchises 11

4.3 Opportunity 11

4.3.1 Exclusive products offering 11

4.4 Threats 11

4.4.1 Supermarkets moving to 24/7 hours 11

4.4.2 Security 11
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4.4.3 Shoplifting 12

5 Social Impact of 7-eleven 13

6 Learning Outcomes 13
6.1 Know your customer 13
6.2 Replicate what works 14
6.3 Know your employees 14
6.4 Employees can inspire management 14
6.5 Communication is key 15
6.6 Support your Frontline workers 15
6.7 Great people make Great employees 15

6 Conclusion 16
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1.Introduction:

7-Eleven is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

It is the world’s #1 convenience store with simple focus, ‘innovating to make life easier for
the customer’. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was
names Tote’m stores between 1928 and 1946. After 70% of the company was acquired by an
affiliate Ito-Yokado in 1991, 7-Eleven operates, franchises and licences 78,029 stores in 19
countries and territories as November 2021. 7-eleven is the largest chain store in any category
opening approximately six stores per day somewhere in the world. Without hesitation the
brand hat is conjured up when thinking about the convenience store industry is without any
doubt 7-eleven. Since 1946 7-Eleven has been an expanding firm that not only originated
the convenience store concept but also innovated this sector throughout the 20th century.
From its inception 7-Eleven has grown over 6,000 stores in United States and over 23,000
worldwide.7-Eleven retailers that operates more than 60,000 convenience stores , mostly in
North America and Asia. The typical outlet is small in size and carries a limited stock of
food, drinks and other high-turnover products but stays open long hours. 7-eleven operates,
franchises, and licences 78,029 stores in 19 countries and territories as of November 2021.

We will review the history of 7-Eleven.

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2.History:

7-Eleven is one of the few major brands whose origins can be traced back to the actions of
the creative and dedicated employee. In 1920s not many Americans had access to the
electricity it was who lived in the affluent neighbourhoods of major cities who did and also it
was still early days for the refrigerators so even among those who had access to electricity not
many had a refrigerator at home to keep their perishables fresh but that does not mean people
did not preserve perishables. There was a way to do it and that was to use a block of ice put
next to whatever needed to be preserved so if for Example you wanted the meat to last three
days or a week you had to pack it together with ice. It created a demand for ice which
fortunately could be bought from an ice shop nearby. In the city of Dallas Texas selling ice
was a big business as was the case around the country perhaps to increase efficiency and cut
the cost in 1927 several ice shops in the city merged to from southland ice company given
the need to quick move the ice from the storage at the store to the consumers homes the ice
doors were mostly closed –or in residential areas one employee of the south an ice company
who’s been identified as uncle Johnny Jefferson Greene identified a need in the customers he
was serving they needed items like milk eggs and bread when the grocery stores around were
closed. He talked to his employer one Josie Thompson Jr. about the possibility of selling milk
eggs bread and others item at the ice shop with permission from his employer uncle Johnny
stopped these items and soon people were buying especially during the weekends and
holidays when most of the shops around were closed noticing the success Josie Thompson Jr.
decided to replicate this enterprise in the other eye shops around the town and each was doing
well beyond expectations soon business was booming and the new venture was generating
more revenue than ice blocks and this turned out to be the survival path for southland ice
company in the following few years more Americans had access to both electricity and
refrigerators and did not need to buy ice blocks to preserve their perishables if ice blocks
remained their primary product they would most likely have closed down sooner or later.
Then another accident happened while traveling in Alaska an association Josie Thompson Jr.
by the name of Jenna Lyra came across totems monumental carving of the poles that are part
of the belief system of Alaskan indigenous people she bought one of these totem posts and
when she reached home they set it up outside the Southland ice company shops the totem
post became a magnet many locals came to shop at the stool because they wanted to have a
look at it noticing that the totem was an apt marketing item the management of Southland ice
company back to Alaska and bought one for each of their shops and that is how the business
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acquired the brand name totem stores first customer started referring to the stores as totem
shops and then the company adopted the name and made it their brand name and it stuck with
them for close to 20 years then why did they change to 7-Eleven in 1946 Southland ice
company decided to drop totem and take a new brand name they settled on 7-Eleven why it
described the operating hours of their convenience stores opening at 7:00 in the morning and
closing at 11:00 in the evening this tradition that has the source of their name has however
changed in 1963 many 7- eleven stores began to be open 24/7 the story goes that one evening
in 1963 the University of Texas football team coming from a tournament decided to enter
into a local 7-Eleven store for a celebratory evening they didn’t leave until the next morning
the next evening other students came by and overstayed this falls the management to allow
the store to be open 24/7 soon other 7-eleven stores followed suit how true the story is we
can’t tell and if you noticed this is another of 7-eleven’s accidental development steps it could
also be argued that the brand just joined a trend at the time in 1960s many business especially
in the bid cities were finding necessary to open 24-7 given the availability of customers to
serve. There in one more accidental development regarding 7-eleven growth and it has to do
with one of the most popular products the Slurpee soft drink however this did not say place
within the company it happened outside the company before the drink became the part of the
company staples Omar askes Nedley was the owner of chain of ice cream shops in the Dallas
area one day his soda fountain broke down and he was forced to put the drink a freezer ton
put the drink in a freezer to keep it fresh for the customers when he got it out it was slushy
but the customer loved it more that way a light bulb went off he could product the drink in
this form for his customers he began to offer the drink as a new item on the menu he also
patented it in the 1960s his business became part of 7-eleven and the new product was
branded and marketed as Slurpee. 7-eleven has disclosed that it sells about fourteen million
cups of Slurpees each month and since the product was launched in 1966 over 7.2 billion
Slurrpees has been sold but it’s only one among many products. Over the years the number of
products sold in 7-eleven convenience stores has steadily grown today you can buy almost
anything at a 7-Eleven store: car auto parts, gasoline, coffee, burgers, pizzas, refreshments,
hot meals, shoes.
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3.Types of product/Services:

7-Eleven focuses on meeting the needs of convenience oriented guests by providing a

broad selection of fresh high quality products and services at everyday fair prices, speedy
transactions and a clean friendly shopping environment. The number of products and
services in 7-Eleven is 2500 to 3000 SKUs.

3.1Products:

7-Eleven is the world’s#1 convenience store with one simple focus, innovating to make
life easier for the customers. 7-Eleven provides a variety of products 7-Eleven
emphasized and merchandising to get a princely to local preference each store carried
food items beverages magazines and consumer items such as soap and detergent.

3.1.1Eat-able Food items:

● Food items were classified in four broad categories:

● Child temperature items: including sandwiches, delicatessen products and milk.

● Warm temperatures items: like box lunches, rice balls and fresh bread.

● Frozen items: including ice cream, frozen foods and ice cubes.

● Room temperature items: canned food, instant noodles and seasonings.

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3.1.2 Beverages:

Beverages include soft drinks, nutritional drinks, alcoholic beverages such as beer and
wine, Food items and beverages accounted for 52 percent of total products in the store
and gave a relatively high margin.

3.1.3 Non food(Grocery):

It includes consumer products like soap, shampoo ,phone cards , Game software, music
CDs and magazines etc.7-eleven focused on increasing the number of original items that
were available only at their stores.

3.2Services of 7-Eleven:

7-eleven provides all kinds of services. Besides,7-Eleven gradually added a variety of

services that customers could obtain at its stores. The first services added in October 1987
was the in store payment of electric power bills. The company later expanded the set of
utilities for which customers could pay their bills in the store including gas, insurance
premiums and telephone. In April 1994 7-Eleven began accepting instrument payment on
behalf of credit companies. It started selling ski_lift pass vouchers in November 1994. In
1995 it began to accept payments for mail order purchases. This was expanded to include
payment for Internet shopping in November 1999. In August 2000, a meal delivery
service company was established to serve the ageing population. By April 2004 ATMs
had been installed in about 75% of the store network with the goal to achieve 100 percent
ATM installation. Other services offered at stores include photocopying ticket sales using
multifunction copiers and being a pick-up location for parcel delivery companies that
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typically do not leave the parcel outside if the customer is not at home. The major thrust
for offering these services was to make 7-Eleven stores more convenient places to shop.
7-Eleven adopted the pay point services for example utilities bill credit card payment
ticket payment plane ticket at counter services etc. 7-Eleven has a short life of production
cycle..
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4.SWOT ANALYSIS OF 7-Eleven:

4.1Strengths:

4.1.1Convenient locations:

7-Eleven Inc. has almost 78029 stores in 19 countries (Nov-2021) throughout the world
which gives them a significant location and convenience advantage. Being a convenience
store their primary benefit to customers is that commonly purchased products are located
at nearby stores. Therefore greater market coverage through a greater number of outlets
will provide increased convenience to more customers.

4.1.2Overall brand equity:

7-Eleven is generally perceived as the market leader by consumers in the convenience

store sectors. Brand equity translates into customer loyalty and reduced price sensitivity
and therefore continued stability of revenue streams across its outlets.

4.1.3Franchised Model:

Many of the 7-Eleven stores throughout the world are franchised. This provides strength
for the organization.

4.1.4Diversity of income:

The 7-Eleven overall chain operates in multiple countries, the parent company has
essentially diversified its income streams across multiple market’s.

4.2Weakness:

4.2.1High rental cost:

As 7-Eleven ranks in a convenient store l, it's needed to locate outlets in very

convenient locations they are more likely to incur higher rental cost as a result. This
higher operating cost structure will mean that they will need to adopt a price premium
approach. There are some consumers who are happy to pay a little bit more for
convenience and speed of purchase. Although some consumers are price sensitive and
this will affect high cost structure.

4.2.2High staff cost:

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High staff cost is most likely similar to high rental cost because the store operates on a
24/7 basis in some locations, this type of retailing stores is likely to have a higher ongoing
operating cost structure. As a result of these higher costs,7-Eleven will be required to
have higher price offering in order to protect their margins.

4.2.3 Franchises:

Although the overall franchised Model is a strength, running a large team of franchises
throughout the world is also a weakness. This is because it removes some element of
direct control of the day-to-day operations of each outlet and passes it to the franchisee. In
addition the management team is required to recruit, train and monitor the various
franchises which also adds to the overall cost structure on an operational basis.

4.3Opportunity:

4.3.1Exclusive products offering:

7-Eleven has managed to form some strong relationships with key manufacturers that
have strong brands. For example(Gatorade) where certain flavors are only offered through
7-Eleven stores. This has advantages to both of the strategic partners and it is something
that will broaden the range of benefits that 7-Eleven delivers to its consumers.

4.4Threads:

4.4.1 Supermarkets moving to 24/7 hours:

In some part of the world major supermarket chains have adopted a 24/7 operating
system. It is common for most major supermarket chains to have extended hours this
takes 7-Eleven to natural competitive advantage of having extended shopping hours this
is a significant thread’s to 7-Eleven over time as they wouldn’t have the low cost structure
required to compete effectively on a price basis with a major retail chain such as walmart

4.4.2 Security:

We all know that 7-Eleven is a significant convenience store that's handles cash and
may be open on a 24/7 basis it is likely to be a target for theft and armed hold up.
obviously the chain has put in various security measures in different parts of the world
including video cameras, safes and window barriers and so on.
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4.4.3Shoplifting:

As like most retail store (Walmart)7-Eleven will have the continued threads of minors
shoplifting and stealing.in some stores operates on a lean Budget and only gave minimal
staff, which present the opportunity for some consumes too occasionally shoplift.as like
the security thread video cameras may assist and help in this regards.
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5. Social Impacts Of 7-Eleven :

As we know, 7-Eleven is a convenience store. Convenience stores are gradually changing

People’s way of life by catering to the fast pace and sort of young people since Young
people between 10-30 years old are the main target customer group.

● The improvement of people’s consumption level and the increasing rationality of

customer’s the original material demand to the service demand.

● Customers no longer focus on good quality and low price while good value for money
is getting more and more important.

● Instead of going to a departmental store for a long time, people are shortening the time
when they are shopping in the stores and pursuing more convenient shopping methods.

● Customer’s control and save their shopping time within 5 to 10 minutes in 7-Eleven..

● Through convenience stores enterprises like 7-Eleven have prompted people to change
their way of life and society has become more convenient and Life -oriented.

6 Learning outcomes:

6.1 Know your customer:

Having a comprehensive understanding of your customers is key to achieve core business

goals.when you're trying to build the customer experience you should increase the
number of sales so that it will be beneficial in terms of knowing customers and their
needs.An optimised customer experience is valuable for revenue and retention. If you get
it right it can be a source of customer insight.

● Ask the customer for their opinion without projecting your own.
● Use simple language that asks for feedback on a specific topic For example: 7-Eleven
stores ask about their products,conveniences and productivity.
● The Only way to understand the unique and dynamic customer buying journey is to
put yourself in your customer's shoes

These techniques are common practice meant to inform and inspire your customer
engagement efforts but you should always keep on eye what's right for your
customer's.
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6.2 Replicate what works:

We should discover what we set out to be discovered. We should kn6and observe how
other store's than 7-Eleven make customers Brought them back to store again and
again.the success of 7-Eleven brought us to replicate our or other s work for the beneficial
outcomes.Through understanding the replicate work process you should make progress in
your businesses.

6.3 Know your employees:

To make your business successful it is extremely important that you know your customer
well.While knowing customers is a well organised and common business
practices.knowing your employees is a lesser known Virtual.

Even though it could be argued that knowing your employees is every bit as important as
understanding your customer's.If you don't know your employees in terms of their
abilities and services how would you know about your customer's. Employees of any
company are the most important resources and the better you are able to keep them
happily engaged and help them achieve their fullest potential. Even if you know your
customers extremely well, or you don't know how to connect with your employees first
you might miss out on opportunities to build first and convey external information to your
employees.It also negativity influences your customer relationship.

To improve employee engagement you need to know what makes employees engaged in
the first place.but employees engagement is Two way street.Company constantly keep
reminding them why they become employees at your company in the first place.

6.4 Employees can inspire management:

Employees can inspire management through there interpersonal skills if any employees
lacks to inspire manager or management team can be motivated through:

● Couching, training and mentoring:Many strategies that managers use to inspire people
do not cost much money and that's why they are effective. They require an investment
of the manager's own time . Couching is one way in which managers can utilise their
time as motivational tools. Managers can motivate employees through providing
them leadership operations so that promoting the best employees position of higher
authority can inspire employees and it makes employees inspire the management
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through its work in higher authority.When employees feel important and optimistic
they will work for the benefits of the company that would be a source of energy to
company's.

6.5 Communication is key:

Communication is obviously necessary to do kind business.you communicate with

customers, employees, suppliers other businesses and the community at large.and still
some small businesses don't seem to have a consistent communication strategy.In
business you should take communication strategies seriously:

● Communication inforces brand messages like 7- Eleven through its name it shows that
the store is open 7 times a week and 24/7 a day.From.7 am to 11 pm the working time
period of 7- Eleven. This logo voice or brand persona of 7-11 describes the
strategy(convenience),message, marketing and every aspect to the customers
● Communication builds customer relationships
● Communication boosts creativity and innovation.
● Communication encourages feedback's
● Communication boosts employees morale.

6.6 Support your Frontline workers:

Frontline workers/ employees are service professionals who work directly with customers
Frontline employees are an essential part of customer service. Company should support
their Frontline workers because:

● Satisfied Frontline employees create satisfied customers

● Your Frontline staff members are the face of company
● Frontline staff knows and understands your customer's pain point.
● Supporting / empowering Frontline staff creates a bottom-up culture.today workplace
requires creativity, fast decision making and innovation from employees and you can't
accomplish that by managing Frontline employees in a top- down only culture that
why a bottom-up culture is essential in today's businesses.

6.7 Great people make Great company: Although it's a simple fact that the companies
with Best employees win.Great people who make Greater companies you need to create a
strong hiring process that puts the right people in the right time.
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7.Conclusion:

7-Eleven retail stores are one of the leading convenience store brands worldwide They
have been operating for over 30 years and have established a strong brand recognition and
community presence. When it comes to purchasing convenience products and services
customers seek a 7-Eleven Store for their wide range of goods and the technological
services they’re offering. Additionally the number of stores established in all countries
has made the company the most accessible and convenient store for customers.
Nonetheless the entrants of the market have made it difficult for 7-Eleven to compete as
they offer similar products but with a unique twist that differentiates them. These new
competitors are pulling the market share from 7-Eleven as well as taking their daily
revenue.7-Eleven has the strongest competitive position and most of the market share, it
has slowly reduced due to the new entrants. Therefore, Two new strategies that will lead
to them and their competitive advantage would be the Implementation of improved and
new ready to eat- consumables that will increase daily revenue streams and store traffic.
Furthermore the penetration of rural and urban areas are increased convenience and
easiness of obtaining products would allow them to maintain the market
position.7-Eleven continues moving forward in its role as a distribution groups that can
respond to customer expectation through continuous innovation and group synergy.
7-Eleven has appreciated marketing strategies and marketing mix strategies by utilising
its opportunities and strength such as operating 24/7 hours a week and 7 times/ days a
week to serve their customers and promote products and services through various social
media platforms.

In addition, multi-channel distribution strategy is strongly applied to support their

products' sales in various kind.Threads and Weaknesses are reduced as suitable marketing
strategies and mix strategies are used to counter it.

Besides, online ordering is available in 7-Eleven stores to help customers to purchase

products in an easier manner/way. Also the future plans / strategies may result in
7-Eleven retails facing business and operational risks which may include insufficient cash
flow funding capability and inadequate experienced workforce.