The chain of convenience stores known as 7-Eleven is owned by the Japanese holding company, Seven & i Holdings. The holding company also runs Denny’s and other businesses and restaurants. The company franchises, licenses and operates more than 7,600 stores in the U.S., with more than 4,700 of them franchised. The 7-Eleven chain was taken private in 2005.

7-Eleven has become the world’s largest licensor and franchisor. They have over 39,000 stores, which surpasses McDonald’s Corporation. The number of outlets in the U.S. number approximately 7,619. Below is a breakdown of the number of stores in each of the 32 states where they do business.

Number of Stores per State 

Arizona 92 Nevada 243
California 1607 New Hampshire 32
Colorado 361 New Jersey 351
Connecticut 58 New Mexico 1
Delaware 28 New York 436
Dist. of Columbia 21 North Carolina 7
Florida 751 Ohio 14
Idaho 11 Oregon 141
Illinois 484 Pennsylvania 194
Indiana 43 Rhode Island 24
Kansas 11 Texas 462
Maine 194 Utah 136
Maryland 400 Vermont 5
Massachusetts 194 Virginia 796
Michigan 182 Washington 238
Missouri 77 West Virginia 25

 

In addition to the more than 7,600 stores in the U.S., the company has stores in 16 countries. Their largest markets are the U.S. and Japan. They also have a strong presence in Norway, Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Norway. Based on per-capita information, 7-Eleven is more popular in Norway, with a 7-Eleven for every 47,000 people out of approximately 5 million. The Canadian per capita is one store for each 74,000 people.

A 7-Eleven franchise agreement halves the gross profits between the individual franchise and the company. The usual term of the agreement is 15 years. In the U.S. the company is working toward franchising their remaining corporate run locations.

The original stores were named Tote’m, indicating that customers could ‘tote’ away their purchases. In 1947, the name was changed to reflect the store hours of seven o’clock in the morning, until eleven o’clock in the evening. The long hours makes the locations of particular convenience because they are open when most stores have closed. In the 1960s the then Southland Corporation, began experimented with, and eventually adopted the practice of remaining open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The stores are known for the 1.2-liter Big Gulp and partially frozen, slushy, Slurpee beverages. In addition, they sell staples such as milk and bread, along side a wide range of products such as hot dogs, sandwiches, snacks, soft drinks, coffee, and other types of convenience foods. 7-Eleven’s popular slogan “Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven” has been used for decades.

In July 2011, 7-Eleven officially entered into an agreement with Cinemark movie theaters allowing their trademark Slurpee beverage to be sold at Cinemark theater locations. The agreement is the first time that 7-Eleven has allowed any of their branded products to be sold outside of the franchise.

The U.S. offices are located in Dallas, Texas. They are currently ranked number 11 among food retailers with a 2.1% market share. As of their fiscal year end of December 2009 (the latest data available), total sales in the U.S. were an estimated $15.9 billion.

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