Because it requires some bits of culture we don’t have. And an easily walkable area to truly take advantage of it
Because cities like singapore hong kong taipei tokyo etc etc are heavily pedestrian cities that have excellent public transportation infrastructure. Its works well with the convenience stores you see in asia. You see this in New York too. The main traffic for 7-11 in places in the US are drivers that are making pit stops for gas ad such.
When you live in a city like houston or LA its better to get your essentials and food from grocery stores and supermarkets.
Because we’re very good at driving things into the ground.
I’m just gonna say it. Convenience stores in the U.S. attract and serve a lower socioeconomic strata of people. In addition to repelling higher income folks just by being poor, they often make the store messier. They litter on the floor, drop cigarette butts outside, etc. And if wealthier people aren’t going to come, the store owners don’t have any incentive to make the store cleaner or nicer. 7-11 would need a total revamp of its marketing, image, and target customer. Carrying egg salad sandwiches isn’t going to do it.
I assume that part of the answer is that the American branch engages in aggressive cost cutting to the detriment of the service, where as while the Japanese branch does this to a degree, they still have a commitment to some level of minimum quality.
People in the US are slobs and don’t care about others.
Most americans live in filth. Don’t pick up after themselves trashing the country. “So what we got people we pay to clean this place,” is a common phrasing used. Why are so many americans poor? Because they lack the self-discipline to do things as they should be done. There will be these americans reading that sentence thinking “what is the way things should be done?” LOLOL
I feel like the closest thing I’ve seen to this in the US is a Maverick gas station in Utah. Dunno about other states, but the ones in Utah have some pretty good food offerings and feel pretty clean. Especially compared to 7-Elevens I’ve been to here.
Perfected? They don’t have Slurpees.
Only poor people buy stuff at 7-11 in the US.
because in the us 7-11 is a place to get gas and get shot
the 7-11 in my town has a shooting at least once a month!!!
The food requires a much smaller geographical distribution system or a much wider network for the food service manufacturing. One is impossible and the other is expensive.
7/11s in Hawai’i are literally owned by the Japanese version and way more similar to the Japanese version and they work just fine with a car-dependent low-trust society.
I don’t think any of the comments have solved the mystery. There are certain elements that won’t transfer but it doesn’t explain most of it
You need a certain culture to be able to have nice combinis
We can’t have nice things because we trash them when we get them.
Thing is is that Canada and the US have pharmacies as their “combini” so its not like our only choices are crappy 7-11s that only really sell overpriced snacks and cigarettes. The “mini supermarket open late selling a bit of everything” is covered by pharmacies.
In addition to points already made, I believe it has a lot to do with Japan having higher food standards and just taking more pride in food products. Some convenience stores in the US have hot food and/or pre-packaged “fresh” foods, but they use the worst quality ingredients to make the cheapest product possible and over-charge to the point where most people would prefer a bag of $3 chips over a questionable $6 ham sandwich.
7-11 in the US are mostly found in lower income, higher crime neighborhood, or inner city area, where lower price is more important than quality. Whereas in Japan, quality of food preparation and presentation is generally higher across the industry, local 7-11 has to keep up with the industry standard.
Because Japanese culture is based on hard work, good service, and getting things right. There’s also a strong understanding of social responsibility.
American culture focuses on greed, individuality, and aggression to get what you want. You can see this in their business practices.
Because people in most other countries just don’t give a shit about public and shared spaces therefore turning those into a dump.
Because the culture surrounding “convenience stores” is different.
Wawa
Honest question: Who (who is actually have lived in the states for a long period because I don’t want any ignorantly passionate answer) is going to regularly choose the konbini’s bento or behind the counter pre-made food over the food we can get at U.S convenient stores or small take out restaurants? I personally would only extremely rarely, especially when talking about NYC.
The bottom line….. U.S and Japan are way too different. Food, landscape, convenience, and definitely not going to get that robotic customer service a lot of you love so much. There is just no room for 7/11 to be as successful in the States as it is in japan and other asian countries.
Also if you think that if japanese 7/11 transfered most of their stuff to the states, it would be just as cheap as in Japan, then you guys need a wake-up call.
A big part no one wants to talk about? The ADA. A lot of Japan is not at all disabled accessible, since they need to maximize merchandise space, which in turn means significantly narrower aisles to fit more shelves. It makes it impossible for a *lot* of businesses that thrive in Japan to work in the US, even in our urban centers.
Japanese people are respectful and clean. Some Americans (enough of them) are not… and ruin things for everyone else. Moving to America as a child was truly a culture shock. Can’t wait to move back.
The customer experience comes first in Japan. Americans put profit over that.
Because , we can’t do it right in the US
As an American, i think Americans ruin everything for themselves because they have no self control and can’t behave.
It’s not just the US, not many countries have people as disciplined as the Japanese, maybe Koreans.
Show a Japanese person a NYC subway station…. Hydrant bursting 🤣
Americans don’t like nice things.
A deep dive into the tipping culture in America should answer this question. It’s all cultural. And no I am not saying that we tip in 7-11s here in the US. If you don’t understand my comment then you probably shouldn’t be discussing this issue.
Very few places in the US have the population density of most Japanese cities, or?
My first thought was “Because Americans can’t be trusted not to rob the cash till, steal stuff or commit murder.”
Sheetz and Wawa are pretty close.
Saw something a few months ago about this and apparently there is only about 5 distribution centers in the states. Where there is tons in Japan. Majority of stores are filled a few times a day in Japan vs maybe every couple of days or a week in the states. They simply don’t have the distribution setup to compete with the Japan counterparts.
I don’t think the issue is that Americans are just trashy barbarians… other convenience store chains in the US *are* thriving in both urban and suburban areas, with cleaner, more modern stores and better food. The average 7-11 store here is dirty and depressing, while the Wawa a 1/4 mile down the street looks nice and sells actual fresh food at a similar price point.
I wonder if it has something to do with 7-11 operating on a franchise model? At least in my area, the better quality convenience stores are all privately owned chains that don’t franchise.
Because I know 100% that I will get exactly what I want in 7-11 in Japan, and know it’s fresh.
Can’t say the same for the US. Hell, I won’t even go to a 7-11 in the US.
38 comments
Because it requires some bits of culture we don’t have. And an easily walkable area to truly take advantage of it
Because cities like singapore hong kong taipei tokyo etc etc are heavily pedestrian cities that have excellent public transportation infrastructure. Its works well with the convenience stores you see in asia. You see this in New York too. The main traffic for 7-11 in places in the US are drivers that are making pit stops for gas ad such.
When you live in a city like houston or LA its better to get your essentials and food from grocery stores and supermarkets.
Because we’re very good at driving things into the ground.
I’m just gonna say it. Convenience stores in the U.S. attract and serve a lower socioeconomic strata of people. In addition to repelling higher income folks just by being poor, they often make the store messier. They litter on the floor, drop cigarette butts outside, etc. And if wealthier people aren’t going to come, the store owners don’t have any incentive to make the store cleaner or nicer. 7-11 would need a total revamp of its marketing, image, and target customer. Carrying egg salad sandwiches isn’t going to do it.
I assume that part of the answer is that the American branch engages in aggressive cost cutting to the detriment of the service, where as while the Japanese branch does this to a degree, they still have a commitment to some level of minimum quality.
People in the US are slobs and don’t care about others.
Most americans live in filth. Don’t pick up after themselves trashing the country. “So what we got people we pay to clean this place,” is a common phrasing used. Why are so many americans poor? Because they lack the self-discipline to do things as they should be done. There will be these americans reading that sentence thinking “what is the way things should be done?” LOLOL
I feel like the closest thing I’ve seen to this in the US is a Maverick gas station in Utah. Dunno about other states, but the ones in Utah have some pretty good food offerings and feel pretty clean. Especially compared to 7-Elevens I’ve been to here.
Perfected? They don’t have Slurpees.
Only poor people buy stuff at 7-11 in the US.
because in the us 7-11 is a place to get gas and get shot
the 7-11 in my town has a shooting at least once a month!!!
The food requires a much smaller geographical distribution system or a much wider network for the food service manufacturing. One is impossible and the other is expensive.
7/11s in Hawai’i are literally owned by the Japanese version and way more similar to the Japanese version and they work just fine with a car-dependent low-trust society.
I don’t think any of the comments have solved the mystery. There are certain elements that won’t transfer but it doesn’t explain most of it
You need a certain culture to be able to have nice combinis
We can’t have nice things because we trash them when we get them.
Thing is is that Canada and the US have pharmacies as their “combini” so its not like our only choices are crappy 7-11s that only really sell overpriced snacks and cigarettes. The “mini supermarket open late selling a bit of everything” is covered by pharmacies.
In addition to points already made, I believe it has a lot to do with Japan having higher food standards and just taking more pride in food products. Some convenience stores in the US have hot food and/or pre-packaged “fresh” foods, but they use the worst quality ingredients to make the cheapest product possible and over-charge to the point where most people would prefer a bag of $3 chips over a questionable $6 ham sandwich.
7-11 in the US are mostly found in lower income, higher crime neighborhood, or inner city area, where lower price is more important than quality. Whereas in Japan, quality of food preparation and presentation is generally higher across the industry, local 7-11 has to keep up with the industry standard.
Because Japanese culture is based on hard work, good service, and getting things right. There’s also a strong understanding of social responsibility.
American culture focuses on greed, individuality, and aggression to get what you want. You can see this in their business practices.
Because people in most other countries just don’t give a shit about public and shared spaces therefore turning those into a dump.
Because the culture surrounding “convenience stores” is different.
Wawa
Honest question: Who (who is actually have lived in the states for a long period because I don’t want any ignorantly passionate answer) is going to regularly choose the konbini’s bento or behind the counter pre-made food over the food we can get at U.S convenient stores or small take out restaurants? I personally would only extremely rarely, especially when talking about NYC.
The bottom line….. U.S and Japan are way too different. Food, landscape, convenience, and definitely not going to get that robotic customer service a lot of you love so much. There is just no room for 7/11 to be as successful in the States as it is in japan and other asian countries.
Also if you think that if japanese 7/11 transfered most of their stuff to the states, it would be just as cheap as in Japan, then you guys need a wake-up call.
A big part no one wants to talk about? The ADA. A lot of Japan is not at all disabled accessible, since they need to maximize merchandise space, which in turn means significantly narrower aisles to fit more shelves. It makes it impossible for a *lot* of businesses that thrive in Japan to work in the US, even in our urban centers.
Japanese people are respectful and clean. Some Americans (enough of them) are not… and ruin things for everyone else. Moving to America as a child was truly a culture shock. Can’t wait to move back.
The customer experience comes first in Japan. Americans put profit over that.
Because , we can’t do it right in the US
As an American, i think Americans ruin everything for themselves because they have no self control and can’t behave.
It’s not just the US, not many countries have people as disciplined as the Japanese, maybe Koreans.
Show a Japanese person a NYC subway station…. Hydrant bursting 🤣
Americans don’t like nice things.
A deep dive into the tipping culture in America should answer this question. It’s all cultural. And no I am not saying that we tip in 7-11s here in the US. If you don’t understand my comment then you probably shouldn’t be discussing this issue.
Very few places in the US have the population density of most Japanese cities, or?
My first thought was “Because Americans can’t be trusted not to rob the cash till, steal stuff or commit murder.”
Sheetz and Wawa are pretty close.
Saw something a few months ago about this and apparently there is only about 5 distribution centers in the states. Where there is tons in Japan. Majority of stores are filled a few times a day in Japan vs maybe every couple of days or a week in the states. They simply don’t have the distribution setup to compete with the Japan counterparts.
I don’t think the issue is that Americans are just trashy barbarians… other convenience store chains in the US *are* thriving in both urban and suburban areas, with cleaner, more modern stores and better food. The average 7-11 store here is dirty and depressing, while the Wawa a 1/4 mile down the street looks nice and sells actual fresh food at a similar price point.
I wonder if it has something to do with 7-11 operating on a franchise model? At least in my area, the better quality convenience stores are all privately owned chains that don’t franchise.
Because I know 100% that I will get exactly what I want in 7-11 in Japan, and know it’s fresh.
Can’t say the same for the US. Hell, I won’t even go to a 7-11 in the US.