7-Eleven's soon-to-be chief is confident he knows value, and thrifty customers

TOKYO – The archetypal foreigner tapped to caput 7-Eleven expressed assurance Friday the Japanese convenience store concatenation volition proceed to pull thrifty customers, adjacent successful an economical slowdown.

But Stephen Hayes Dacus, an American with a Japanese mother, declined to remark connected the specifics of the assorted concern plans present being studied, including an acquisition connection by Alimentation Couche-Tard of Canada.

A peculiar institution committee, which helium isn’t portion of, is charged with studying the options “totally objectively,” helium said.

“The process is moving guardant precise constructively,” Dacus, who is presently a director, told a tiny radical of reporters astatine the Tokyo office of Seven & one Holdings Co., which operates 7-Eleven.

His assignment arsenic main enforcement inactive needs shareholders’ approval, acceptable for May. Seven & one shares person risen much than 2% successful the past year.

Fluent successful Japanese and English, Dacus said helium was determined to physique a civilization of enactment that he’s learned to respect from his acquisition moving astatine Walmart, Uniqlo and different retailers.

“If you’re not humble, you’re not listening to your customers. You’re not learning. But if you’re not aggressive, you’re going to get bushed by your competitors,” helium said.

Dacus stressed the 7-Eleven concatenation was increasing globally. But the stores were antithetic by nation, and his intent was not to duplicate everyplace the Japanese-style “conbini,” arsenic they are known here.

Lowering costs tin beryllium delivered with a amended proviso chain, for instance, leveraging the chain’s planetary reach, portion a cheaper look for a nutrient point volition simply thrust customers away, said Dacus.

“This concern successful Japan has been built connected innovation,” helium said.

While declining to remark connected U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies, helium acknowledged buyers volition apt tighten their purse strings successful a slowdown.

The reply is to beryllium the archetypal prime for wherever they shop, Dacus said, noting that his parent and Japanese relatives helium watched increasing up ne'er wasted anything. They would wrapper leftover meal rolls astatine restaurants successful insubstantial to instrumentality home, helium recalled.

“If you privation to speech to immoderate pugnacious customers, you spell speech to my aunts,” helium said.

“Japanese customers are incredibly demanding. That’s thing that truly resonates with me. And that forms the mode I deliberation astir retail.”

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Yuri Kageyama is connected Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

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