In his recent Wallet Pop post on 7-Eleven’s move to provide more 7-Eleven private-brand products, Geoff Williams mentioned the U.S. and Canada as two 7-Eleven countries. There are more than that. There are so many that it can make your head spin. With so many companies struggling, here’s one that continues to make its mark. The company started up in Dallas, Texas in 1927, and as far as I know, is still going strong more than 80 years later.
I have never seen as many 7-Elevens in my life as I did when we lived in Taiwan. If you were in need of a 7-Eleven in Hsinchu where I lived, there was one just up the street or around the corner. At some 7-Elevens you could see another 7-Eleven just a block away–or across the street. The products were Taiwan products besides a mix of others. With the 7-Eleven brand coming onto the scene, it might be a hard choice to pick between the shrimp crackers or 7-Eleven potato chips.
7-Elevens can be found in 17 countries outside the U.S. Along with Taiwan and Canada, the other countries include: Japan, Australia, Mexico, Singapore, the Philippines, Sweden, Denmark, South Korea, Thailand, Norway, Malaysia , China, Macau, and Hong Kong. There are approximately 27,250 of them. [from 7-Eleven profile page] Of these, almost 4,500 (or more) are in Taiwan.
When 7-Eleven started in Dallas, it was the first convenience store ever. The first products were ice, milk, bread and eggs.