4. The Great Convenience Store Wars of Japan: The History of Convenience Stores and the Features of the Top Three Chains

■Flow of the Conversation:

History of convenience stores / Originated in America / Initially an ice specialty store “Southland Ice Company” / Operated from 7 AM to 11 PM / Later became Seven-Eleven / Expansion to Japan during the high economic growth period of the 1960s / Seven-Eleven in 1974 / FamilyMart in 1973 / Lawson in 1975 / Birth of Ministop, Daily Yamazaki, NewDays, etc. / On the other hand, Circle K Sunkus, Save On, Coco Store, etc. merged with FamilyMart and Lawson / Seven-Eleven with "Dominant Strategy" and "System Construction" / FamilyMart with "FamiPay," "FamiMaru," "Digital Signage" / Lawson with various store formats like "Lawson Store 100," "Natural Lawson," "Seijo Ishii" / Mr. Sakuma also talks about convenience stores.

■Episode where Mr. Sakuma spoke:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6PtVXgNup2hIz4794NGgre?si=6I5w2zmFSK2cJn8c_VqiVA

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