GlobalBX

The Top Name in Convenience
Over time, some brand names become so well known that the mere mention of them evokes an entire product concept or business method.  Think about a particular kind of facial tissue, or plastic wrap, or sandwich bag, and you know exactly what this means.  The 7-Eleven brand has done this for convenience stores worldwide, providing a neighborhood location where you will find everything from basic groceries to cold drinks, motor oil, shoelaces, and hundreds of other items you can’t live another second without.  Starting way back in 1927, today there are more than 5,600 U.S. franchises and a staggering 27,000 elsewhere in the world.  That’s a lot of microwave burritos!  The name originated in 1946, when each store was mandated to remain open between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.  Today, however, the vast majority of locations are open around the clock.

The Franchise System
The corporate owners of 7-Eleven have created a system nearly unique among franchise businesses.  The parent company owns or leases the land on which the store sits, and it also assumes all costs of building it and stocking it with equipment – everything from soft drink dispensers to cash registers and coolers – and they even pay the monthly utilities.  The corporation will sink anywhere from $1 million to $2 million into opening each location.  As a result, a franchisee actually leases the fully stocked and operational store directly from the corporation.  While this is quite unusual when compared to the way other franchises work, the fact that 7-Eleven is consistently ranked at the top of the list of “best convenience store franchises” – and always within the top ten among all franchise operations – it’s obvious that they have created a system that truly works.

Getting Up and Running
In order to qualify as a 7-Eleven franchisee, the corporation asks for a franchise fee of around $70,000.  This is much like an initiation fee and indicates that one is serious about the opportunity at hand.  The fee also goes toward training and other start-up costs.  Because the parent company opens each location as a fully stocked entity, the franchisee is also responsible for buying the initial inventory as well as reimbursement for operating licenses, building permits, and the money in the cash register – generally totaling from $80,000 to $90,000, depending upon the size of the store.  On an ongoing basis, franchisees are responsible for restocking inventory, hiring and training employees, and paying for basic upkeep and minor repairs.

Franchise Benefits
The corporation provides six weeks of intensive training, which teach franchisees everything from an operational and management standpoint.  To keep things running smoothly, every region has one or more field consultants assigned to it.  These people visit each franchise store every week to offer advice on all aspects of doing business the 7-Eleven way.  Even though all store decisions are the responsibility of the franchisee, this system allows storeowners to stay informed on the latest methods of operation as well as product promotions.  Every month, franchisees receive detailed reports regarding store sales, profit-and-loss statistics, and balance spreadsheets.  A proprietary computer system helps speed ordering and also keeps track of payroll details.

Alternatives to Owning a 7-Eleven Location
There are two other ways a person can become involved as a 7-Eleven operator.  Sometime an existing franchisee will elect to sell the interest in his or her store, which allows the prospective buyer to make something commonly known as a “goodwill” purchase.  The price of such a purchase is strictly between the buyer and the seller, although the corporation reserves the right to properly vet the new owner and also collect the sort of fees any new franchisee would expect to pay.  Another method is specifically reserved for owners of existing convenience stores and is known as a “business conversion.”  The corporation will entertain the opportunity to turn your own store into a 7-Eleven location, complete with brand-name recognition and proprietary system of operations, so long as you meet certain standards.  For example, you cannot be situated closer than half a mile of an existing 7-Eleven store, and your location must possess at least 1,400 square feet.

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