Japanese Convenience Store Pioneer Toshifumi Suzuki Dies at 93

Tokyo, May 25 (Jiji Press)– Seven & i Holdings Co. Honorary Adviser Toshifumi Suzuki, who pioneered Japanese convenience stores known as “konbini,” died of heart failure on May 18. He was 93. A native of Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, Suzuki graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Chuo University in 1956 and joined retailer Yokado, the predecessor of Ito-Yokado Co., in 1963 after working at Tokyo Shuppan Hanbai, now book publisher and distributor Tohan Corp. He played a central role in establishing York Seven Co. in 1973 and led the negotiations with Texas-based Southland Corp., then the Seven-Eleven chain operator, to secure a licensing and area service contract bringing the convenience-store format to Japan. The following year, Suzuki helped launch Japan’s first convenience store in the Toyosu district of Tokyo’s Koto Ward. York Seven was renamed Seven-Eleven Japan Co. in 1978, and he became the first Seven-Eleven Japan president. Under his leadership, the company adopted consumer-oriented product strategies and grew into the biggest konbini chain operator. Suzuki did not simply imitate American convenience stores. He promoted the development of products tailored to the Japanese market, such as rice balls and bento lunch boxes, and implemented strict product quality control. He was also known for having introduced the point of sales, or POS, system for the first time in the Japanese retail industry and drastically improved profitability. His unconventional business style, such as the 1991 buyout of struggling Southland and a series of stringent reform measures, made industry people call him “Hurricane Suzuki.” Meanwhile, Suzuki succeeded Masatoshi Ito as president of Ito-Yokado in 1992 after Ito resigned over a scandal involving payoffs to “sokaiya” corporate racketeers. He then orchestrated a retail group anchored by general supermarkets and convenience stores, pushing them aggressively into new businesses. In 2001, the group launched banking services through IY Bank, now Seven Bank, installing automated teller machines inside Seven-Eleven stores. He continued to take the helm of the group after it shifted to a holding company structure called Seven & i Holdings in 2005, expanding its business scope by acquiring, among others, department store operator Millennium Retailing Inc., now Sogo & Seibu Co., and mail-order and online retailer Nissen Holdings Co. In 2016, Suzuki stepped aside to the honorary post after his proposal to replace Ryuichi Isaka as Seven-Eleven Japan president was rejected by the board of directors. At a press conference on Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara praised Suzuki for “building the foundation for the modern retail industry in Japan.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]