February 24, 2004Convenience Store Business7-Eleven Canada Making a Move to the Mall February 24, 2004 VANCOUVER, CANADA -- 7-Eleven Canada Inc. is taking convenience to where the customers are--including malls, colleges, airports and hospitals. The new stores will be smaller than the typical 7-Eleven store with more of a concentration on fresh food, Vice President of Development at 7-Eleven Canada Jim Waldron told the Globe and Mail. The 7-Eleven store at the Vancouver International airport has surpassed sales projections. "We do serve a different niche, a different customer...a customer who needs to move in and out quickly and who looks for the convenience. We're looking to develop aggressively over the new few years," said Waldron. Competition for consumers' convenience dollars has intensified in Canada, leading retailers to look for "innovative ways to attract a time-starved consumer who is looking for faster, more convenient methods of getting the shopping done," writes the Globe and Mail. Expanding into nontraditional settings could be a savvy move for convenience stores, say industry analysts. "In the right facility and the right venue, convenience stores can be very effective and very productive. Wherever you have high traffic, you can generate high volumes of sales"--which will be necessary to be successful in high-rent locations, such as malls and airports, said convenience store consultant Hugh Large. Waldron said 7-Eleven plans to open more small stores in urban locations as well as in malls and hospitals. These stores are fashioned after the units parent company 7-Eleven Inc. developed for Japan, where space is tight and rent is high.
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