7-Eleven Hits Milestone of 60000 Stores in 17 Countries

7-Eleven Inc., the largest convenience retail chain in the world, keeps getting bigger with the opening of its 60,000th global store.

The Irving-based company traces its roots to the 1927 opening of Southland Ice Co. in Oak Cliff, Texas. In 1946, with stores open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., the name was changed to 7-Eleven. Stores started staying open around the clock in 1971.

7-Eleven moved into Canada in 1969 and into Mexico in 1971 as part of joint ventures. In 1974, the retail chain expanded into Japan with Seven-Eleven Japan, which became the parent company in November 2005.

7-Eleven now has stores in Thailand, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia and UAE through area license and master franchise agreements.

The first 7-Eleven store in Vietnam is expected to open next spring, which will extend the retailer’s operations to 18 countries.

“The 7-Eleven story is amazing and inspiring; we started as a small local ice house and have grown over the years store by store, community by community, and country by country into an iconic global brand,” said Joe DePinto, 7-Eleven Inc. president and CEO. “We will continue to grow by staying focused on the constantly changing convenience needs of our customers and by staying committed to the communities we serve.”

Last year, 7-Eleven opened one store every 2.5 hours, for approximately 4,000 stores.

The company currently has the most stores in Japan (18,860), followed by Thailand (9,278), the United States (8,378), South Korea (8,238) and Taiwan (5,057).

Other milestones in 7-Eleven’s history include:

• 1927: First store
• 1952: 100th store
• 1963: 1,000th store
• 1984: 10,000th store
• 2003: 25,000th store
• 2010: 40,000th store