Though convenience store chain 7-Eleven was born in the United States, it has been wholly owned by the Japanese company Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd. for nearly twenty years, building on a business partnership begun way back in the 1970s. I think that the iconography is fun, the colors and original logo sitting well alongside the Japanese katakana:
As I understand it, in accordance with general trends 7-Eleven stores in Japan tend to offer a bit more “pop” in terms of appealing products than a Westerner might expect based on the domestic American shopping experiences. Avocados who have traveled to or lived in Japan can probably comment on this. Seven-Eleven Japan is a subsidiary of Seven & i Holdings, which also owns Denny’s Japan and the Ito-Yokado store chain.
Here are some vintage commercials–I have the video set to start a couple of commercials in:
What led me to this header topic was contemplation of the date 11/27 and I was thinking about using U2’s song “Stay (Faraway, So Close!)” as the final link given its opening line “Green light, Seven-Eleven…” thus connecting the numbers 2, 7 and 11. Bit of a stretch, but…
Anyway that song’s lyrics might be a little down depending on where one finds oneself on this night before US Thanksgiving, so instead let’s spin some smooth City Pop:
Header image of store in Osaka, Japan credit to bongs lee via the Wikimedia Commons.