The first 7-Eleven convenience store has opened in Israel today, just over a year after Electra Consumer Products (TASE: ECP) announced that it had signed a 20-year franchise agreement with the US-based international convenience store chain. The first store is in Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Center. By the middle of 2023, 7-Eleven is due to open seven more stores, most of them in Tel Aviv as well as an outlet in Hod Hasharon. By the beginning of 2024, 30 7-Eleven stores are scheduled to be operating around Israel.
Electra Consumer Products CEO Zvika Shwimmer said, "We have chosen to operate in the food sector with two of the world's leading international brands: 7-Eleven in convenience stores and Carrefour in the supermarkets. Our aim is to redefine the field of convenience stores in Israel, with an international concept that does not exist today in the market, and with a significantly distinct consumer experience, both in quality and price. "The potential for convenience stores is enormous. In Israel there are about 10,000 kiosks and convenience stores nationwide, and we intend to increase the competition and be a significant part of this market."
A range of 2,000 products
From today the Tel Aviv store will be selling about 2,000 products, of which 80 are 7-Eleven brand products made in Israel including juices, nuts and snacks. Customers will also be offered international brands like Slurpee (fluffy frozen drinks), Smoothie (fruit shakes), and Big Gulp (soft and carbonated drinks), as well as a range of sandwiches, salads, pastries, food products and basic goods. The stores also sell OTC pharmaceuticals and small electrical appliances.
Shwimmer said, "One of the first things the Americans asked me was when do you eat in Israel. We eat here all the time, and we offer food for all meals at attractive prices. 7-Eleven is not a supermarket, but a place to go out from satisfied."
Purchases in stores will be based on self-service payment through an app. These days the app is in the pilot phase, and on its launch it will be possible to order products through it or scan them using digital signage on the shelf thus making the payment. The digital signage also provides the chain's management with real-time information on the amount of products on the shelves.
The plan: hundreds of stores
Shwimmer said that the plan is to rapidly open hundreds of the chain's stores with a new store opened every two weeks. As part of Electra Consumer Products' strategy in the food sector, the customer club credit card will allow aggregation of points between the various chains operated by the group, including Carrefour.
The 7-Eleven network in Israel is headed by Avinoam Ben Mocha, a former executive at Tnuva. "We will be a significant player in convenience stores and kiosks. It's a solution like a mini market, pizzeria, cafe, and fast food restaurant under one roof."
He added, "The concept of the chain is international, and is built on the nearly 100 years of experience of the global company. However, we have made many adjustments for the Israeli market, starting with the menu, through the mixture of coffee beans and ending with local foods - all of which are adapted to local tastes and culture. We have received thousands of inquiries from players In Israel who are interested in opening a 7-Eleven branch, but it is impossible to open hundreds of stores in a month or even in a year."
As for the question of opening on Shabbat, no clear answer was given, but according to Ben Mocha, "We will take into account everything that is around us, and every case individually. We aim to open as much as possible without harming customers' feelings. There will necessarily be kosher branches in places where it will be the right thing." In the past it was announced that the branches would not open on Shabbat, despite the chain's name.
7-Eleven is the world's biggest convenience store chain. The first store was opened in 1927 in Dallas, Texas. Today the chains has over 83,000 stores in 18 countries, with Israel becoming the 19th country and first in the Middle East.
7-Eleven International co-CEO Ken Wakabayashi said, "Israel is an excellent environment for our first retail venture in the region due to the thriving economy and population growth. 7-Eleven's entry into Israel brings a one stop shop solution, in a new retail format in the local market."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 11, 2023.
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