The Enduring Legacy of Japan's Convenience Store Pioneers

The Legacy of Japan's "Father of the Conbini"

Japan's convenience stores, affectionately known as conbini, have become an integral part of the country's daily life. These nearly 60,000 stores, which first emerged in 1974, have been accused of several offenses, including crushing mom-and-pop stores, contributing to rural decline, and accelerating a loneliness problem. Critics describe them as "strangely cold and unfriendly places" that have destroyed Japan's traditional shopping streets, known as shotengai.

However, the story of conbini is closely tied to the life and legacy of Toshifumi Suzuki, who is widely regarded as the "father of the conbini." Suzuki's innovative approach to the 7-Eleven chain, which he brought to Japan in the 1970s, revolutionized the concept of convenience stores. He adapted the model to local tastes and eventually re-exported it abroad.

Suzuki's success was largely due to his ability to ignore the critics and push forward with unconventional ideas. He once said in an interview, "Looking back now, everything I did was opposed. When I proposed something and people went against it, I thought: This is worth doing, this'll succeed." Suzuki's determination and innovative spirit helped him overcome internal opposition and adapt the 7-Eleven model to Japan's unique market.

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Under Suzuki's leadership, 7-Eleven became a place where Japanese people could do everything, from financial services to caffeinating. The company introduced a range of innovative services, including bill payments in 1987 and ATMs in 2001. Suzuki also introduced onigiri rice balls in 1978, which have become an iconic staple of the Japanese diet, with 7-Eleven alone shifting more than 2.1 billion every year.

Suzuki's innovations extended beyond the store itself. He changed the way Japanese people eat and introduced a new concept of inventory management, where individual owners placed orders in response to customers' needs. Since he stepped down in 2016, the industry has struggled to find its next big hit, with the English version of 7-Eleven's history page ending in 2016.

The controversy surrounding Suzuki's departure from 7-Eleven in 2016 serves as a reminder of the complexities of corporate governance. Activist investor Dan Loeb accused Suzuki of plotting to install his son as his successor, which Suzuki denied. The conventional wisdom saw Suzuki's departure as a victory for corporate governance reform, but the company's shares have risen less than a fifth in the decade since.

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The comparison between Seven & i Holdings Co. and Sony Group Corp. highlights the complexities of corporate governance and the importance of prioritizing innovation and thinking outside the box. Suzuki's legacy serves as a reminder that removing a founder or innovator may not always lead to modernization and success.

In the end, Suzuki's career and the subsequent struggles of Seven & i Holdings Co. suggest that companies should prioritize thinking outside the box and challenging conventional wisdom. As Suzuki once said, "If everyone agrees something is good, that means anyone could have thought of it. So it isn't really worth doing, and won't succeed."