Who invented 711

The company officially adopted the name and decorated their locations with an Inuit-inspired theme to match.

The name changed to 7-Eleven in to reflect their new store hours—am to pm—in order to capitalize on the post-World War II economic boom. The local 7-Eleven had seen such a rush of students following a University of Texas football game that they were forced to stay open until dawn the next day. Sensing a trend, the store continued to stay open all night on the weekends, and soon more and more locations adopted the new schedule as well. America ranks among the top with locations, along with by Thailand and South Korea with more than and stores, respectively.

And the company keeps growing, with a brand new store opening somewhere in the world every two hours of every day. The ad touted their curbside grocery delivery service, and an animated rooster and owl reminded customers that the store was open early and closed late. When his soda fountain went on the fritz, he improvised by putting some bottles in the freezer to stay cool.

However, when he popped the top, they were a little frozen and slushy. Folks loved them and started requesting "those pops that were in a little bit longer. On this one day, 7-Eleven gives away about , gallons of Slurpees Some 7-Eleven stores get the machines themselves certified kosher as a selling point for their Jewish customers. The small retail endeavor was an immediate success and expanded to all the company's ice docks. First called Tote'm Stores because customers literally toted their groceries away, the first convenience store was later renamed 7-Eleven in to reflect its 7 a.

Some of the original Tote'm stores even featured totem poles out front. For more fun trivia stories, please sign up for our free newsletters. In many parts of the world, you don't have to travel far to find a 7-Eleven.

As of January , 7-Eleven operated more than 70, stores in 17 countries around the world, including more than 20, in Japan. By comparison, there were about 40, McDonald's locations in operation around the world in and some 32, Starbucks locations.

The Big Gulp drink, 7-Eleven stores' proprietary ounce fountain cup, is the granddaddy of large-size drinks. First introduced in , the original milk carton-shaped Big Gulp cup nearly doubled the company's fountain business overnight.

At the time, it was the biggest cup on the market. Not only was it the first convenience store to stay open 24 hours, it was also the first convenience store to sell gas, as well as the first such store to offer ATM services to its customers. The frozen, carbonated beverage was first invented in by a Kansas hamburger stand owner.

Using an automobile air conditioner, he created a sophisticated piece of equipment that would freeze a carbonated soft drink and serve it in a sherbet-like form that could be sipped through a straw.

The Slurpee name was created in May during a brainstorming session of the Stanford Agency, 7-Eleven stores' in-house agency. While drinking the product through a straw, agency director Bob Stanford commented that it made a "slurp" sound coming through the straw. In , 7-Eleven trademarked the term "brain freeze" to communicate the painful joy of drinking a frozen Slurpee.

The company entered the wine market with its own private-label wine in Thousand Oaks, a California vintage, was introduced to America in five varietals: cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot, pinot grigio and white zinfandel.

Within months, sales of the Thousand Oaks varietals pushed it up to the second-most popular wine at 7-Eleven, only behind mega-brand Gallo. Thousand Oaks is no longer available. Self-Service Transformed the Convenience Industry As work routines and leisure lives continued to change, self-service was key in the changing needs of time-pressed customers.

Beginning in the s, self-serve gasoline came to growing 7-Eleven convenience store locations. Several little inventions and machines, like the counter-top microwave oven, self-serve soda fountain and roller grill, created new quick- and self-service merchnadising opportunities.

These conveniences quickly became popular in other countries, as well. The numbers of International outlets at this time were some 2, stores. Choices broadened, and consumers demanded not only speed and ease of service, but also variety, quality and value. In the early s, 7-Eleven focused on bringing this value to the customer and grew to 25, stores around the time the company celebrated its 75th anniversary.

Building on an Idea Since its inception, 7-Eleven has banked not on just one great idea, but many to remain successful. Still headquartered in its birthplace city, 7-Eleven remains an active member of the Dallas community. The adoption of the Asda name occur AutoNation, Inc. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new vehicles, used vehicles, parts and Canadian Tire Corp. Its retail busines CarMax, Inc. Added by chcom.