Our Story

We Began As An Original. We Remain An Original At The Top Of The Convenience Industry.
Our company invented the concept of convenience retailing. But we didn’t stop there. 7-Eleven® has captured the world with a proven willingness and ability to innovate. 7-Eleven, Inc. is the world’s largest convenience retail chain with more outles than any other retailer or food service provider in the world.

Based in Dallas, Texas, the company operates, franchises and licenses approximately 7,800 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Of the more than 6,790 stores the company operates and franchises in the United States, more than 5,800 are franchised. 

Outside of the U.S. and Canada, there are more than 38,100 7-Eleven and other convenience stores in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, China, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Australia, Philippines, Indonesia, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

What has remained a constant is no matter which 7-Eleven® guests shop in – from Jersey to Japan – they expect to find fresh products and handy services in a clean, safe, friendly environment.

History Lesson
It all started back in 1927 at the Southland Ice Company in Dallas, Texas, when an enterprising employee had the idea to offer milk, bread and eggs on Sundays and evenings when grocery stores were closed.

1946 marked a name change from Tote’m to 7-Eleven, reflecting the stores’ new extended hours – 7 in the morning until 11 in the evening, all week long. (Note: The Company’s corporate name was also changed to 7-Eleven in 1999. It had been The Southland Corporation.)

The entrepreneurial spirit of that original employee has guided 7-Eleven to this day. We were the first company in America to offer fresh-brewed to-go coffee. More than six million of our Slurpee® beverages have been sipped since 1966.

We ran the first convenience store chain television commercials. We were the first retailer with its own prepaid wireless program. And, to continuously stay ahead of the curve, we introduce more than 2,500 new products each year.