Seven & i Holdings will accelerate its global expansion, including exports, as part of its efforts to achieve sustainable growth for its private brand (PB), “Seven Premium.” Seiji Kitamura, Executive Officer and Head of the Group Merchandise Strategy Division, said: “We want to make it a brand with a global perspective while strengthening our domestic business more than ever.”
The company has positioned its international business as a new pillar of growth. Effective July 1, the functions of Seven-Eleven Japan’s (SEJ) Global Business Promotion Department were integrated into the Merchandise Procurement Department within the Group Merchandise Strategy Division, establishing the Global Merchandising Promotion Department.
The company currently exports confectionery, alcoholic beverages, and other products to markets including Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Australia, and is also offering products exclusively for overseas markets.
While noting that “exports are still small in scale,” Kitamura said: “The growth in inbound tourism has increased opportunities for people from overseas to appreciate our private-brand products. Even when looking at Seven-Eleven stores around the world, Japan leads with a high private-brand share. Opportunities will expand if we implement product initiatives tailored to the needs of each country.”
Recently, the company has increased meetings and exchanges of information with Seven-Eleven, Inc. in the United States and others. “What markets in different countries have in common is advancing inflation and intensifying competition between retail formats. Japan-specific circumstances include population decline, a falling birthrate, and an aging population, while disparities in consumption can be cited overseas,” Kitamura said. He added: “In any case, the need for differentiated products was a common theme across all countries. That means private brands. The importance of products and value that can only be found here does not change from one country to another.”
For the time being, he said, among other things: “We would like to connect the strengths and ideas of private brands in each country from a global perspective, including Japan’s ‘Seven Premium’ and the United States’ ‘7-Select.’”
