7 Eleven

Roberto de Oliveira Filho

Assignment 2 – 7-Eleven

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Vancouver

February 2017

Can 7-Eleven Succeed in Germany?

        This second assignment has the objective to study the case of 7-Eleven’s market in Germany and to conclude if its worth it to invest. The primary question this case addresses is whether 7-Eleven could succeed in Germany given the cultural environment, and the limited shopping hours.

        The brand 7 Eleven is an international chain of convenience stores that operates, franchises, and licenses some 56,600 stores in 18 countries. The convenience store concept was born in 1927 when an enterprising employee began to sell milk, bread and eggs on Sundays and evenings after the stores had closed. The company has been successful overseas, principally in Asian countries. In Japan, country that have more stores in Asia, operates more than 9.000 stores under an area license agreement initially in 1971. The stated goals of the company are “meeting the needs of busy shoppers by providing a broad selection of fresh, high-quality products and services at everyday fair prices, along with speedy transactions and a clean, safe, and friendly shopping environment.”

        The first European 7-Eleven store was opened in Stockholm, Sweden in 1978. 7-Eleven was available in Spain until 2000 with many stores inside Repsol petrol stations, as well as some other petrol-stations across the country. 7-Eleven stores are now solely located in the Scandinavian region of Europe. Besides the increasing demand for convenience stores in Germany, the company had not entered the market retailing before 2003. The competition was intense, margins slim, and the hours of store operation limited by law to daytime hours, Monday to Saturday. Products from within Germany and other EU countries dominated the shelves of stores, mainly due to the duty-free movements of goods and geographical advantages among the EU countries.