7-Eleven Korea strengthens trading business via global network

By Kim Jae-heun

7-Eleven Korea, a major convenience store chain, has used its worldwide network to become a global trading company exporting domestic products and importing popular overseas items, company officials said Wednesday.

7-Eleven is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores founded in Dallas in 1927. It currently operates 85,000 stores in 19 countries including the United States, Japan and Korea.

The chain is using its global network to share consumption trends and popular products in each country by exporting and importing them.

“We are introducing popular overseas products to local consumers by expanding our partner firms' export channels utilizing 7-Eleven's global network, which is the company's strength,” a Korea Seven official said. Korea Seven is a Lotte Group subsidiary that operates 7-Eleven stores in Korea.

On Thursday, the convenience store will begin selling two types of Scotch Whisky Highball products that are popular in Japanese 7-Eleven stores.

On June 21 it will also launch two types of Barefoot Wine here that are on the best-seller list in American 7-Eleven outlets. Barefoot Wine is a representative daily wine with a history of winning more than 2,000 awards in the United States over 10 years.

7-Eleven Korea is also promoting Korean food by exporting popular products of its private brand Seven Select and other domestic partners.

Starting with the export of 1,300 boxes of snacks and seaweed to 7-Eleven in Malaysia in 2015, the Korean branch has sold more than 40 products abroad.

Last September, the company exported BTS Hand Drip Coffee to 7-Eleven Hawaii to target local K-pop fans.

This month, the company plans to export 25,000 seaweed products to Taiwan and 15,000 Seven Select chocolate egg snacks to Hawaii.