The Southland Ice Company is credited with opening the first convenience store in May 1927 at 12 Edgefield Road in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas. Jefferson Green, who ran the Southland store in Oak Cliff, noticed that customers sometimes needed to buy things like bread, eggs, and milk after the local grocery stores had closed. Unlike the grocery stores in Oak Cliff, Green's store was open 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, so he decided to stock some of the essentials, and the idea seemed to be very convenient for customers.
Joseph C Thompson, one of the founders and later chairman of the board of Southland Corporation, recognized the potential of Jefferson Green's idea and began selling similar products in the company's other stone stores, which were then open from 7am to 11pm seven days a week.
In addition to the convenience store development of the Southland Stone Company, other forms of convenience stores began to appear. In the 1920s, there were stores called “midgets” or “motorterias.” However, the growth of these stores was modest until World War II. The end of the war and the increase in automobile ownership led to rapid growth of the industry in the 1950s. The growth of cars per capita, along with improved roads and transportation, prompted many people to move to the suburbs where there was more space to live and raise children, but such homes were far from shopping areas. This has spurred the growth of convenience stores as customers demand convenient shopping at nearby grocery stores and these stores are increasingly opening in suburban areas as well as urban areas that are too small for supermarkets.
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On the other hand, the increasingly large size of department stores is not suitable for customers who want to buy things quickly. Convenience stores have overcome this problem. The increase in families with 2 cars, 2 working couples means that more people have more money and less time to spend at the supermarket, the increase in the number of working women also means that the time for family shopping is decreasing. Therefore, stores in convenient locations where customers can park in front of the store, leave the children in the car while still being able to keep an eye on them is increasing in number. Not only do they have basic goods, but they also do not have to wait in line to buy things. Franchising also began to appear in convenience store chains when the cost of opening a new store became expensive. Through franchising, convenience stores expanded their presence to the northern part of the United States and continued to grow and expand globally through mergers, acquisitions, and new construction.
As they increase in number in many parts of the world, convenience stores continue to innovate, competing not only with supermarkets, grocery stores, and food stores, but also with drug stores, fast food chains, and even gas stations.
2. The development of convenience store model in the world
2.1 The development of convenience store models in the world in general
The global convenience store industry generated $523.9 billion in sales in 20065 , up 12% from 2005, with same-store sales (excluding gasoline) growing 9.6%. Additionally, same-store sales increased 7.3% to $1,099,992 (accounting for gasoline input prices and a 3.2% increase in the number of convenience stores over 2005), surpassing the $1 million threshold for the second consecutive year.
5 Convenience Store News 2007 Industry Report
2.2 The development of convenience store chains in some developed countries
2.2.1 In the US
Convenience stores have long been a popular place for Americans to buy gas, coffee, and snacks. Convenience stores are also a staple of subway stations for groceries. The average time a customer spends in a convenience store in the United States is estimated to be about 3 to 4 minutes.
In the United States, a convenience store is defined as a retail business in a convenient location whose main merchandise is food and gasoline. Other characteristics of convenience stores include their small size, typically less than 5,000 square feet (about 150m2) compared to an average supermarket of about 45,500 square feet (about 1400m2), convenient location for pedestrians and parking. Convenience stores have relatively long opening hours and some are open 24 hours a day, and their main merchandise is groceries such as beer, snacks, and cigarettes. The number of goods in the store is estimated to be at least 500 stock-keeping units (SKUs) compared to the average number of goods in a supermarket in the United States, estimated in 2004 at 45,000.
In 2006, there were 146,294 convenience stores in the United States with sales of $569.4 billion, of which more than $405.8 billion was from the sale of gasoline for motor vehicles, a 15% increase due to the increase in gasoline prices in 2006. U.S. convenience stores account for three-quarters of all gasoline consumed in the United States and are the primary location where customers purchase fuel. However, profits for U.S. convenience store chains in 2006 fell 23.5% to $4.8 billion compared to 2005 due to a decline in U.S. gasoline reserves and an increase in credit card fees.
The ten main items sold at US convenience store chains (excluding fuel) include the following: :
1. Cigarettes
2. Non-alcoholic packaged beverages
3. Beer
4. Foodservice (food)
5. Other tobacco
6. Candy
7. Salty snacks
8. General merchandise
9. Fluid milk products 10. Packaged sweet snacks
One in 10 Americans buys food at a convenience store in a two-week period. Some convenience stores also include fast-food restaurants, with the most popular menu items, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACs), being sandwiches, pizza, fried chicken, hamburgers and Mexican food.
The first convenience store chain in the United States opened in Dallas, Texas in 1927 by the Southland Ice Company, which later became the famous Seven Eleven. Since then, many convenience store chains have been established and developed under the form of joint ownership or Franchise.
The merchandise sold in American convenience stores is generally quite similar, regardless of the chain's name, and always includes milk, bread, soft drinks, cigarettes, phone cards, children's toys, coffee, candy, and American-style foods such as hot dogs and doughnuts, in addition to ice cream, french fries, beef jerky, a few stores also sell sandwiches, pizza, and frozen foods, along with toiletries and even dog and cat food.
Almost all American convenience stores have ATMs and, uniquely, they also sell state lottery tickets. Some American convenience stores also sell gasoline and auto parts.
Because alcohol restrictions vary from state to state, there are significant differences in the availability of beer, wine, and spirits in the United States. While convenience stores in Alaska, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey are not allowed to sell any alcohol, stores in Nevada and California can sell all types of alcohol, and convenience stores in Virginia, Washington, and Oregon can sell beer and wine, but not spirits. Sheetz, a convenience store chain based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, tried to get around the law in 2007 by converting part of one of its first stores in the area into a restaurant that sold alcohol. However, a Pennsylvania court struck down that idea.
American convenience stores are often targeted by robbers. The main reason is that these stores have only one employee working late at night, most of the transactions are done in cash, and goods such as alcohol, lottery tickets, and cigarettes are easy to resell. Therefore, most convenience stores in the US usually have safe deposit boxes and cameras to prevent theft.
Many convenience stores in the US also have partnerships with fast food chains. Accordingly, some fast food chains such as Chick-fil-a set up a counter in the convenience stores, the food is not processed at the convenience stores but is delivered from the Chick-fil-a branch in the area.
NACs_National Association of Convenience Stores was founded on August 14, 1961, is an international trade organization with 2,200 retailers and 1,800 suppliers. NACs members conduct business in nearly 50 countries around the world, most of which are based in the United States. Since its inception, NACs has provided information, knowledge and connections to ensure the competitiveness and development of its members. NACs' mission is to introduce the industry and assist members to operate effectively and increase profits by:
Provide knowledge, solutions and necessary connections to members
Promote the image of the convenience store industry
Influence the government to facilitate the industry with active participation of members
Forecast and influence events to ensure the industry's ability to develop.
Maintain operations as a financially independent organization
Promote relationships with suppliers
2.2.2 In Japan
Although originating in the United States, the convenience store chain model has developed strongly in Japan. Japanese-style convenience stores (in Japanese, Kombini means convenience) have also had a great influence on other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Thailand, Korea and China.
As of 2005, there were 43,667 convenience stores in Japan6 spread across the country. Among them, Seven Eleven leads the market with 11,310 stores, followed by Lawson and Family Mart. With fierce competition from the convenience store chains Seven Eleven, Lawson and Family Mart, Japanese convenience stores are becoming more convenient in their own right with many new, innovative and convenient products and services for customers.
In Japan, convenience stores are everywhere, from train stations to hospitals, and the product selection is much more diverse than in the United States. The United States is 24 times larger than Japan, with 2.3 times the population, but has less than twice as many Seven Eleven stores as Japan. In Tokyo, there is a convenience store on every corner.
6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convenience_store
Seven Eleven Japan is the first Japanese convenience store chain to develop a POS system, thanks to which customers' names, addresses... are stored, allowing them to make online purchases.
Most convenience stores in Japan are open 7/7 and 24/7 with a wide variety of foods: snacks, rice balls, bread, rice cakes, potato chips, boxed rice, salad, instant noodles, butter, cheese, frozen foods, chocolate, dumplings, oden... Drinks include energy drinks, tea, coffee, carbonated drinks, fruit juice, mineral water, milk... both hot and cold. Many convenience stores in Japan also sell alcoholic beverages such as sake, shochu, wine and beer. Other goods include personal hygiene items, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, batteries, CDs and tapes, umbrellas, newspapers, magazines, comics... Some stores, especially those outside the city center, also have restrooms.
The services that Japanese convenience stores provide are very diverse. Specifically:
ATM Services: ATMs located at Japanese convenience stores allow customers to perform various banking services such as cash withdrawals, transfers, etc., but these machines do not accept foreign credit and debit cards. ATMs can be multi-purpose machines.
Copy/Fax Services: Photocopiers and fax machines are available at most convenience stores, and may be multi-function machines.
Ticketing services: Tickets for sporting events, concerts, amusement park tickets, major bus routes and other travel services can be purchased at multi-function machines (ATM/ticket machines or photocopiers, fax machines and ticket machines).
Digital photo printing service: Digital photos can be printed by inserting the camera memory card into the multifunction machine and depending on the different convenience stores, the photos can be printed immediately or retrieved after 7
Bill payment services: Many types of bills including electricity, water, gas, telephone, even mobile phone and insurance bills can be paid through convenience stores.
Delivery Services: Many convenience stores in Japan allow customers to send and receive packages and goods. These stores also sell stamps and postcards for customer convenience.