Over the past 39 years, Toshifumi Suzuki has expanded 7-Eleven to 50,000 outlets, more than any other retail chain. Now, at the age of 80, he says he has no interest in retiring. He¡¯s got too much work to do.
¡°I¡¯m not thinking about it at all yet,¡± said Suzuki, chief executive of Japan¡¯s Seven & I Holdings Co., global owner of the home of the Slurpee.
High on Suzuki¡¯s to-do list is a renewed focus on the U.S., where the chain was founded 86 years ago when a Dallas ice maker began selling eggs, bread and milk. Suzuki opened Japan¡¯s first 7-Eleven in Tokyo¡¯s bayside Toyosu district in 1974 and built the brand into Japan¡¯s biggest convenience store chain. Then in 1991, after 7-Eleven brand owner Southland Corp. filed for bankruptcy, he turned around and bought the mother company.
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