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Toshifumi Suzuki, the man who brought 7-Eleven to Japan and built a convenience store franchise empire, passed away on May 18 at 93 from heart failure. Under Suzuki\u2019s leadership, 7-Eleven pioneered 24-hour operations, point-of-sale inventory systems, and in-store banking. By 2015, the empire had grown to more than 55,000 stores globally, earning him the industry nickname \u201cGod of Retail,\u201d according to The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n Suzuki credited a three-word motto forged during World War II for his four decades of relentless innovation: \u201cAdapt to change.\u201d This became his lifelong credo after his life was suddenly upended as a junior high school student during the war. That philosophy drove him to bring the American convenience store concept to a skeptical Japanese market in 1973, where small mom-and-pop shops dominated. <\/p>\n The first Tokyo location, stocked with American items like hamburgers, was an immediate hit and expanded to 100 stores within two years. 7-Eleven\u2019s last major product innovation was the freshly brewed counter coffee that The God himself introduced in 2013.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Toshifumi Suzuki, the man who brought 7-Eleven to Japan and built a convenience store franchise empire, passed away on May 18 at 93 from heart failure. Under Suzuki\u2019s leadership, 7-Eleven pioneered 24-hour operations, point-of-sale inventory systems, and in-store banking. By 2015, the empire had grown to more than 55,000 stores globally, earning him the industry nickname \u201cGod of Retail,\u201d according to The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n Suzuki credited a three-word motto forged during World War II for his four decades of relentless innovation: \u201cAdapt to change.\u201d This became his lifelong credo after his life was suddenly upended as a junior high school student during the war. That philosophy drove him to bring the American convenience store concept to a skeptical Japanese market in 1973, where small mom-and-pop shops dominated. <\/p>\n The first Tokyo location, stocked with American items like hamburgers, was an immediate hit and expanded to 100 stores within two years. 7-Eleven\u2019s last major product innovation was the freshly brewed counter coffee that The God himself introduced in 2013.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n