The Man Who Built 7-Eleven Into a Global Empire Had One Three-Word Motto —Here’s What It Was

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’s 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 “God of Retail,” according to The New York Times.

Suzuki credited a three-word motto forged during World War II for his four decades of relentless innovation: “Adapt to change.” 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.

The first Tokyo location, stocked with American items like hamburgers, was an immediate hit and expanded to 100 stores within two years. 7-Eleven’s last major product innovation was the freshly brewed counter coffee that The God himself introduced in 2013.