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Convenience retail establishments are part of the country’s culture, which means the foreign takeover bid for 7-Eleven, the largest chain, may be a tough sell in Japan.
By Kiuko Notoya and River Akira Davis
Information from 7-Eleven outlets in Japan, adding the original to the east of Tokyo
In Japan, convenience retail establishments are in the spotlight. Clean and bright, they are packed with fresh, affordable lunch boxes, steamed buns and stews for winter. Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain once called them “the one vice” he couldn’t give up.
For many residents, the more than 55,000 cheerful, jingle-filled outlets, known as konbini, are an indispensable component of daily life. Millions of people stop at retail outlets every day to buy groceries, send packages, and pay bills.
Japan’s largest konbini chain, 7-Eleven, is also the most famous. It’s understandable that a competing company would want to get in on the action.
This week, Seven & i Holdings, the Japanese company that operates 7-Eleven, announced that it had won an unsolicited takeover bid for Alimentation Couche-Tard, a convenience store in Canada.
The prestige of 7-Eleven retail outlets as a cornerstone of Japanese society also means that Japan is unlikely to be willing to be part of them, despite mounting pressure on the country’s corporations to demonstrate openness to foreign acquisitions.
7-Eleven is “one of the most productive brick-and-mortar retail corporations in the world,” said Hiroaki Watanabe, an independent retail analyst. Selling 7-Eleven to Couche-Tard would be for Japan to “become a foreign company”. Said.
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