Case Study-1 Seven-Eleven Japan Co. by Sunil Chopra
Case Study-1 Seven-Eleven Japan Co. by Sunil Chopra
Case Study-1 Seven-Eleven Japan Co. by Sunil Chopra
1979, Seven-Eleven
Founded by Mr. 1960 (sole control) 1974 1st seven-
1979, First listed in Japan had 591 stores
single store had Eleven convenience
Masatoshi Ito, Post grown into a store opened in
Tokyo stock & Experienced rapid
world war ll. exchange. tremendous growth
$3million company. Tokyo.
of 10,356 stores.
1985-2003 annual sale increased from 386
billion to 2343 billion yen, net income
increased from 9 billion to 91.5 billin yen,
• 2000-2004 company return of equity averaged
around 14 %.
• 2002 the number of convenience stores reached
42000.
• 2004 the standard size of new stores changed from
125 to 150 sq. mt.
• Seven-Eleven Japan contributed 87.6 percent of
the total income received from convenience stores
by Ito Yokado.
7-ELEVEN JAPAN’S COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
• Brand Awareness
• System efficiency
• Advertising effectiveness
PRODUCTS INCLUDED:
FOOD ITEMS MAGAZINES SEASONAL ITEMS
BEVERAGES GAME,SOFTWARES SOAPS,DETERGENTS,ETC.
STORE SERVICES
Seven-Eleven Japan gradually added a variety of services that customers could obtain at its stores:
• The first service added: in-store payment of Tokyo Electric Power bills (October 1987).
• Company later expanded the set of utilities for which customers could pay their bills in the stores to include gas, insurance
premiums, and telephone with more convenient operating hours and locations than banks or other financial institutions.
• Meal delivery service company (Seven-Meal Service Co.,Ltd.)to serve the aging Japanese population (August 2000)
• In 2001, IYBank Co. was established through a joint investment with Ito Yokado.
• By April 2004, ATMs Installed was about 75 percent of the total store network in Japan.
• Other services: Photocopying, Ticket sales using multifunctional copiers, and being a pickup location for
parcel delivery companies.
a. Graphic order terminals: it was a handheld device with a wide-screen graphic display, used by the store owner/manager to place orders and this
information when placing was directly entered into the terminal that were linked to the store computer and the orders were relayed by the store
computer to both the appropriate vendor and the Seven-Eleven distribution center.
b. Scanner Terminal: These scanners read bar codes and recorded inventory. They were used to receive product coming
in from a distribution center.
This was then automatically checked against a previously placed order and the two were reconciled. Before the
scanner terminals were introduced, truck drivers waited in the store until the delivery was checked.
c. Store Computer: This linked to the ISDN network, the POS register, the graphic order terminal, and the
scanner terminal. It communicated between the various input sources, tracked store inventory and sales, placed
orders, provided detailed analysis of POS data, and maintained and regulated store equipment.
d. POS Register.
• In 1997, Seven-Eleven Japan introduced its fifth generation of the Total Information System, which was still in use in
2004.
• The information system allowed Seven-Eleven stores to better match supply with demand. Store staff could adjust the
merchandising mix on the shelves according to consumption patterns throughout the day.
• More than 50 percent of the items sold at a Seven-Eleven store changed in the course of a year. Part of this related to
seasonal demand and part to new products. When a new product was introduced, the decision whether to continue
stocking it was made within the first three weeks. Each item on the shelf contributed to sales and margin.
7-ELEVEN’S DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
Outcomes
Distribution Matches supply with demand
centers Rapid replenishment
Increases delivery efficiency
Each store order was Increases system efficiency
separated & loaded
into