7-Eleven

7-Eleven, Inc.
Formerly
  • Southland Ice Company (1927)
  • Tote'm Stores (1928–1946)
  • Southland Corporation (1961–1999)
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail (convenience stores)
Founded1927; 97 years ago (1927) (as Southland Ice Company)
FounderJoe C. Thompson
Headquarters3200 Hackberry Road, ,
United States
Number of locations
84,500 (2024)
Area served
Key people
ProductsConvenience foods and beverages, gasoline
OwnerSeven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd.
Number of employees
135,332[1] (2021)
Subsidiaries
Websitewww.7-eleven.com

7-Eleven, Inc.[2] is a Japanese-owned convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as the Southland Ice Company, operating an ice house storefront in Dallas. Then-owned by Southland Corporation, the number of convenience stores expanded and were named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. Southland Corporation changed the stores' name to 7-Eleven in 1946, reflecting expanded hours of operation (7 am to 11 pm). Southland Corporation started franchising its stores in 1961; in 1973 Ito-Yokado, a Japanese supermarket chain, signed a franchisee agreement with Southland Corporation to develop 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan. Operating the Japanese stores under Seven-Eleven Japan, Ito-Yokado acquired a 70% stake in Southland Corporation in 1991; as majority owner, it changed Southland Corporation's name to 7-Eleven, Inc. that same year, then expanded to 100% ownership in November 2005, making 7-Eleven, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan.[3][4] Ito-Yokado reorganized its collective businesses as a holding company in 2005, Seven & I Holdings, with 7-Eleven, Inc. wholly held by Seven-Eleven Japan.[5]

According to reports, there are 9,492 7-Eleven stores in 38 states and territories of the United States. The highest number of 7-Eleven locations of US are in California and Las Vegas with 1,902 stores and 166 stores, respectively. California makes up approximately 20% of all 7-Eleven stores in the United States.[6] Its stores operate under its namesake brand globally, including the United States, where it also operates as Speedway nationally but mostly in the Midwest and East Coast, and as Stripes Convenience Stores within the West South Central United States. Both Speedway and Stripes operate alongside 7-Eleven's namesake stores in several American markets. 7-Eleven also operates A-Plus locations with the name licensed from owner and fellow Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex-based Energy Transfer Partners, though most of these stores have since been rebranded as standard 7-Eleven stores.

  1. ^ "Seven & i Management Report as of January 12, 2022" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on November 30, 2021.
  2. ^ "7-Eleven, Inc. | Seven & I Holdings Co". Seven & I Holdings. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  3. ^ Moyer, Justin Wm. "In honor of 7/11: How Japan slurped up 7-Eleven". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  4. ^ "Seven-Eleven Japan completes cash tender offer for 7-Eleven, Inc" (PDF). Seven & i Holdings. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 4, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  5. ^ Annual Securities Report (PDF) (Report). Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. February 28, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  6. ^ "Number of 7-Eleven Stores in the USA - 2024 | LocationsCloud". Retrieved November 20, 2024.