For Japanese people, convenience stores are not just a place to shop but also an indispensable part of daily life. Convenience stores are like "miniature supermarkets" that are always crowded with customers.
From hot food like lunch boxes, steamed buns to drinks, cosmetics, you can find everything you need here. Even famous chef Anthony Bourdain once confessed that he could not resist the charm of these convenience stores.
A potential 5 trillion yen deal for a Japanese convenience store chain is a hot topic.
Konbini, or convenience stores in Japanese, are an integral part of modern Japanese society. Since their emergence in 1969, konbini (as the Japanese call convenience stores) have rapidly grown, even surpassing their American-origin predecessors, and have become an essential part of the social infrastructure of the land of cherry blossoms. According to The Economist, the konbini industry generates up to $77 billion in revenue for Japan each year.
Convenience stores are an indispensable part of Japanese daily life.
The four major convenience store chains in Japan, 7-Eleven, Family Mart, Lawson, and MiniStop, have a total of 55,700 stores across cities and towns, serving approximately 16 billion customers in 2023. For Japanese people, konbini is a place to buy fresh food, pay bills, send parcels, and much more. International visitors are often surprised by the variety and convenience of this system, with many famous chefs even praising the convenience store's egg bread. Konbini is truly a "second home" for many people.
Since its emergence in 1969, konbini has rapidly grown, even outgrowing its American-originated predecessor.
It’s no surprise that convenience store chains, especially 7-Eleven, have become the focus of multi-billion dollar takeovers, as evidenced by the proposed acquisition by Alimentation Couche-Tard, one of the retail giants.
The deal is attracting a lot of attention from investors and media as Seven & I Holdings, the parent company of 7-Eleven, is carefully considering the final decision. The specific details of the proposal are still being kept secret, adding to the curiosity about the final outcome of the deal.
Seven & I's current market capitalization is around 4,600 billion yen ($31.1 billion). This means that if the Canadian company wants to buy 100%, it will have to spend at least 5,000 billion yen. Nikkei Asia believes that this will be the largest M&A deal between a foreign company and a Japanese company.
Japanese people are restless with the attraction of convenience stores.
7-Eleven is not just a convenience store chain, but an integral part of Japanese culture. Selling 7-Eleven would be more than just a business transaction, but a decision that would have a major impact on the country's cultural identity.
As one of the world's best traditional retailers, 7-Eleven has become a symbol of the Japanese economy, so the sale of this "national treasure" is sure to face strong opposition from both the public and the government.
What will be the status of "national treasure"?
But experts say the Japanese market is saturated and warn that a coming population decline means the big three companies that dominate the sector, 7-Eleven operator Seven & i Holdings, Lawson Inc. and FamilyMart Co., need to perfect their overseas expansion strategies. Both 7-Eleven and Lawson were originally imported from the United States before Japanese subsidiaries bought out their American parent companies.
The first 7-Eleven store in Japan opened in 1974 in a quiet bayside neighborhood in eastern Tokyo. Every Friday morning, it was bustling with office workers, students, and parents with young children.
